Lynford Simpson, Staff Reporter
WITH IMMEDIATE effect, subscribers to cable television will have to do without some of their favourite channels, including Pay-Per-View and Direct TV, unless local cable operators are able to demonstrate to their association and the Broadcasting Commission that they are accessing these channels legally.
"The association has given instructions that all Pay-Per-View and Direct TV channels be removed from cable systems immediately," Colin Innis, President of the Jamaica Community Association of Community Cable Operators (JACCO), told The Gleaner.
He said the association would be taking action against any member who showed these programmes as of today if they are unable to prove they were paying for them. He explained that a decision was taken to deal with those channels which show pre-released movies first.
The announcement by the JACCO head comes three weeks after The Gleaner reported that the Government in tandem with the Broadcasting Commission would be clamping down on local cable providers who continue to offer channels to subscribers illegally.
"We need to get some closure on the matter of intellectual property and the matter of piracy...," said Major Ian Miles, head of the Broadcasting Commission, at a press briefing last month.
Several cable companies, including Allied Cable Vision and Logic One, have in recent days been informing subscribers of changes that will result in some channels being discontinued. These include networks like ABC and Fox Sports.
The Broadcasting Commis-sion said it would issue a directive to all licensed cable operators requiring proof by the end of June of permission from overseas providers for the use of their material. According to Major Miles, if the operators are unable to show proof, they will be asked to stop broadcasting until they can do so. He said the Commission will be conducting its own investigations up to the end of July to ensure compliance with its directive.
Meantime, Mr. Innis has warned of the possibility that popular channels like HBO and Cinemax could soon be discontinued because of the cost involved. "If you go into the average North American home you do not see HBO and Cinemax because they are too expensive," he said.
He pointed out that "we (cable operators) have been passing them on virtually free of cost to subscribers in Jamaica, and that will have to be discontinued". The JACCO head also pointed out that some subscribers with 100 or more channels "could easily lose 40 or more of these".
