The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Cable Bahamas has added an estimated 800-900 subscribers to its sports package since the soccer World Cup started, with a senior executive confirming it was still trying to “clear up” transmission quality issues with the master Caribbean rights holder.

Dave Burrows, the BISX-listed communications provider’s marketing director, told Tribune Business that the FIFA World Cup had boosted Cable Bahamas’ premium sports package subscribers to around 11,000.

While unable to say how much Cable Bahamas paid for the rights to screen soccer’s premier tournament, held once every four years, in the Bahamas, Mr Burrows added: “It doesn’t come cheap.”

Questions, though, have been raised about Cable Bahamas continuing to screen World Cup matches on ESPN channel 749, given that all Caribbean-based cable companies and TV programming distributors are prevented from showing the channel’s US feed.

Tribune Business has obtained a copy of the June 11, 2014, letter sent out by ESPN and its ABC affiliate, which warned Caribbean broadcasters that neither channel had the World Cup programming/distribution rights for the Caribbean.

The letter, issued one day before the World Cup kicked-off last Thursday, and which backs Cable Bahamas’ assertions about the late notice, said the ESPN Caribbean networks would not be airing any matches from Brazil.

Sebastian Lopez, the vice-president of affiliate sales for Disney and ESPN in Latin America, wrote: “The ESPN/ABC networks in the US territory will air those games using the ESPN/ABC feeds, but such feeds can’t be distributed outside the US territory, and there is no system authorised to distribute any (ESPN/ABC) US feed in the Caribbean.

“If any system in the Caribbean does so distribute, it is in violation of international copyright and trademark laws, and an infringement of ESPN’s and third parties’ rights in the individual programs transmitted by ESPN/ABC.”

One informed source was particularly interested in that last line, given that Cable Bahamas is still showing World Cup soccer on the ESPN channel, 749.

“They really should not be playing it on that feed,” the source said. “Are they in contravention of the agreement with ESPN? They’re claiming they purchased the rights, and if so, who from?”

Tribune Business also picked up suggestions from its contacts that complaints over this, and the World Cup coverage, may be made to the sector regulator, the Utilities Competition and Regulation Authority (URCA).

When asked about channel 749 yesterday, Mr Burrows said the screening of World Cup soccer via that feed would not be “a consistent thing”.

“We’re trying to get the signal stabilised, and while we go through that, we have to make sure we have a back-up. That’s not going to stay there,” Mr Burrows told Tribune Business.

“It’s making sure the feed is clear. We’re trying to get that whole thing cleared up with IMC now.”

He explained that Cable Bahamas had acquired the Bahamian rights to show live World Cup soccer from International Media Content (IMC), the master rights holder for the Caribbean. IMC is affiliated with SportsMax, whose president is Oliver McIntosh.

Mr Burrows said that while Cable Bahamas typically accessed its programming direct from satellite feeds, the system was different where the World Cup was concerned.

IMC is accessing the sole feed for the Caribbean, then distributing it to Cable Bahamas and others via IP (Internet Protocol) feed - something that Mr Burrows conceded was “not usually the ideal way of transmitting”.

And, with the Caribbean’s economics meaning that major TV programmers and distributors had no interest in this market, IMC is also trying to squeeze the FIFA World Cup programming into already-limited space it rents on the satellites.

“We have to make sure the feed stays stable, which is why we have a transition thing going on,” Mr Burrows explained of ESPN channel 749.

“The biggest concern for customers is to maintain quality. That’’s not going to be something that’s a consistent presence. We’ve been having discussions to get that [IMC] feed as smooth as we possibly can, We have the rights, and need to be sure we can distribute the feed in the quality customers expect.”

As for the sum paid for the rights, Mr Burrows said: “Sports, as you know, is not cheap to say the least. We’ve seen some sporting events that could be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“The rates keep going up every single year. Sports programming is the most difficult programming to get. It’s a really big thing to sustain major sports programming and the rising cost of sports programming.”

He added that DIRECTV charged a $3.63 monthly fee to help pay for the regional sports programming it is expected to carry in the US.