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October 12, 2008 10:40:17 AM CDT

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Cubans Ignore Static on Illegal TV

Posted Jul 12, 07 7:54 AM CDT in World,  Business,  Technology,  Arts & Living,  Glossies 

(Newser) – Cubans are turning to black-market satellite TV to watch soap operas, US news and music videos, and even the Chicago White Sox—in defiance of a national ban on the programs, the Christian Science Monitor reports. "If there is censorship, there is business," said one  provider who faces up to 5 years in prison if caught.

Loyal citizens only get four state-run channels, but 38% of households are watching shows from a secret network of suppliers of systems like DirecTV for about $7.50 a month. Even party faithful skirt the law: One fan says her neighbor, head of the Committee for the Defense of the Revolution, tunes in. "All our neighbors know, but no one talks about it," she says.

Source Christian Science Monitor

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A woman prepares a bouquet of sunflowers as she watches a preview of an interview of Cuba's President Fidel Castro on TV in Havana, Tuesday, June 5, 2007. Cuban official television will air Tuesday night...   (Associated Press)
Fidel Castro is seen in this Aug. 13, 2006 file photo. Castro decried Washington's "hypocrisy" and "total lack of ethics" in a rambling essay published Sunday July 8, 2007, that analyzes the early years...   (Associated Press)
DirecTV dishes adorn the wall of an apartment building in Los Angeles, in this Feb. 7, 2007 file photo. DirecTV Group Inc., the nation's largest satellite TV operator, said Wednesday, May 8, 2007, its...   (Associated Press)
A family watches a previously recorded interview with Cuba's President Fidel Castro on state TV in Havana, Tuesday, June 5, 2007. Cuban official television aired Tuesday night an interview of nearly an...   (Associated Press)
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television  • Cuba  • censorship  • Fidel Castro  • cable TV  • DirecTV  • black market  • satellite TV  • soap operas  • VH1


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