The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

A LEADING Bahamian satellite TV provider said it was in “wait and see” mode over the restoration of Direct TV’s US feed to some 500 account holders, confirming that the service was not officially authorised.

Michael Garraway, who owns Satellite Bahamas with his brother, Peter, told Tribune Business that the company had refunded around 5 per cent of its customers after they were shut off from Direct TV’s US feed on Janaury 22.

“We haven’t determined how many customers in total have been affected as yet, but it’s around 500 Direct TV accounts. Not everyone had their service disrupted,” said Mr Garraway.

“Right now we are in a wait and see mode as far as restoring service goes. We have advised our customers to give us some time to sort it out. We are actively trying to give people some sort of service through other providers. The customers have been very understanding. We have had to refund probably 5 per cent of our customers so far.”

Satellite Bahamas, which has been in business since 1981, and has been offering Direct TV service since 1995, has close to 3,000 Bahamas-based television and Internet subscribers.

The company appears to have run into the same issues that have affected Cable Bahamas, namely the fact that the Bahamas falls into the Latin American region and should thus receive the Spanish-speaking - rather than English-speaking - programming feed.

This, of course, is unacceptable to a Bahamas-based audience, but programming rights holders have until recently been reluctant to alter geographical contracts because this nation and the English-speaking Caribbean are considered too small a market to interest them.

As a result of this, Direct TV appears to have pulled the plug on the US programming feed that Satellite Bahamas customers were receiving because it was, effectively, unauthorised.

“It was really more practical to deal with the US service. The Latin America service started about seven-eight years after the US service and that didn’t satisfy Bahamians; we sold about three or four systems. The programming was not suited to our culture,” Mr Garraway explained.

“It really started with US citizens coming here with the technology, the second home owners who brought the equipment and wanted us to install it. Bahamians got on board with the service after that.

“We always new it was like, not authorised, but there was this tacit approval so to speak; they knew about us. People would come to us over the years and tell us that Direct TV told them to come to us,” added Mr Garraway.

“We heard about this investigation late last summer. They were grappling with the thought of losing the revenue from our accounts versus shutting them off. I guess because of their [programming] agreements Stateside they had to do what they did.

“I don’t blame them for what they did. Who knows, it may be a watershed moment where they give us authorised service now. We are in discussions with them. It’s just hard to say how this will all pan out.”

Mr Garraway said 60 per of Satellite Bahamas’ business came from Family Island customers.