Residents filled with Olympic fever have been left in a cloud of disappointment and rage about the quality and limited coverage of the sporting event available on the Island.

Fans expecting to watch the Olympic Games on cable have been crushed to discover coverage blocked on most channels.

Bermuda Broadcasting Company bought the rights to air the sporting event exclusively on the Island — and as a result CableVision has blocked any other channel showing Olympic coverage.

As a result, CableVision customers can only watch the Olympics on ZBM — Channel 9, which is airing a feed from the Caribbean and some NBC coverage.

The limited viewing possibilities for the showcase event of world sport have led to an outpouring of complaints, with The Royal Gazette receiving dozens of letters and calls since the Games opened on Saturday.

"There are hundreds of events and now we have one channel to watch these on," said one letter. "There is no choice as to what events you wish to watch, we are forced to watch what channel nine is showing."

"I think we deserve a clear and justifiable reason why we are receiving such terrible coverage," read another e-mail. "It boggles the mind that we have four channels listed as showing the Olympics, yet we can only watch it on one."

Another writer said that they intended to boycott the local advertisers to protest the coverage.

"ZBM hasn't bought any new equipment and doesn't seem to do anything different then when they aired Crunch and Des and Lassie in the 1950s," the e-mail read.

Commenting on the complaints, CableVision general manager Terry Robertson said: "We apologise for any inconvenience customers have been experiencing. However, if customers are upset about the blackouts, please call Bermuda Broadcasting. They are the company who purchased the rights for the Olympics and are requesting that the Games only show on their channel.

"The other networks must be blacked out by law."

Despite the exclusivity agreement, WOW has been broadcasting as usual. According to a spokesperson for the company, they have not been asked to stop coverage.

That decision has delighted WOW subscribers.

"What unbelievably poor coverage of the Olympic Games on ZBM," wrote one "fan of sports but not ZBM". "Thank goodness for WOW. While those who have cable or just local TV, I feel sorry for you having to watch two guys from Barbados commenting on re-runs with a picture quality that looks like it has been recorded by a handy-cam from the TV. All this while CBC and the USA channels are covering multiple sports with top experts commentating. We wait four years to watch the greatest sporting event and we deserve better."

Another man, in a letter copied to BBC/ZBM and CableVision and Government Telecommunications, appealed to the parties to sort out the coverage immediately.

"The Olympics is a time of unity, bringing people together, worldly competition and time to enjoy the various sporting events of the Olympics," he wrote. "Bermuda has a team in the Olympics and it would be nice to feel proud of this and be able to watch their progress. Some people may have family and friends in the Olympics and it would be nice to see their progress.

"Please get together and allow the residences of Bermuda the freedom to choose which Olympic events they wish to view."

Sports fans looking to watch all the events for free still have their options, with online coverage available to anyone with a good Internet connection on www.nbcolympics.com, including live streaming video for those willing to deal with the 11-hour time difference.

Bermuda Broadcasting Company did not respond to numerous calls for comment.