Cubans Ignore Static on Illegal TV

Even committed commies crave US satellite shows despite Castro ban
Posted Jul 12, 2007 7:54 AM CDT
Cubans Ignore Static on Illegal TV
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 an interview of nearly an hour of Castro, for the first time since emergency surgery forced him...   (Associated Press)

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. (More Fidel Castro stories.)

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