THE THOUSANDS of MCTV pirates who were left adrift after the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation's (CBC) switch to the digital network, are turning to local video rental stores to satisfy their entertainment needs.

They are also turning up in droves at CBC's Pine, St Michael, offices to sign up for legitimate feeds of the broadcasts, and according to General Manager Dr Allyson Leacock, while hooking them up immediately would be a challenge, the corporation would try to accommodate all.

"It is definitely going to be a challenge, but we want to give them all the opportunity to be legitimate customers of the corporation," She added. "We will do the best we can."

Leacock said while they had not yet tallied the applications from these "new" customers, the volume of traffic into the Pine offices was described as "substantial".

Meanwhile, those Barbadians who pirated the channels have apparently turned to home videos and DVDs.

At least three video stores reported a significant increase in memberships and rentals since last Friday's blackout.

At Movie Mania in Independence Square, more than 50 new members were recorded over the Friday and Saturday period. Infinity Video also reported an increase in weekend sales.

Chubbies' Mall Internationale outlet also recorded an increase in rentals and membership, while staff at Chubbies Oistins said their membership also registered an increase, with new members coming in to take home DVDs as early as Friday.

One person left high and dry when the plug was pulled on the analogue service, said he had to go the rental route: "Yes, I had to rent, both DVDs and videotapes."

Another added: "It doesn't matter; it is only a matter of time before they get around this one too," hinting that they had not given up the possibility of pirating the new digital signal.

To this end, some ex-pirates have tried changing their boxes and antennae in attempts to illicitly tap into the new service.

Andrew Greene, operations manager of MCTV, said an estimated 10 000 pirates would have been cut off from the service around 8:01 a.m. last Friday.

DirecTV has also registered a massive increase in sign-ups. Acting DirecTV administrator Owana Skeete says the response over the last week was "phenomenal".

She said at least 100 new customers had signed up between last Friday and Monday.