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Viewing cable 06PORTOFSPAIN568, CABLE TV PIRACY IN TRINIDAD

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
06PORTOFSPAIN568 2006-05-08 19:22 2011-08-30 01:44 UNCLASSIFIED Embassy Port Of Spain
VZCZCXRO9277
PP RUEHGR
DE RUEHSP #0568/01 1281922
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 081922Z MAY 06 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY PORT OF SPAIN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6816
INFO RUCNCOM/EC CARICOM COLLECTIVE
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 3588
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 0072
RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY 0015
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PORT OF SPAIN 000568 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ETRD KIPR TD XL
SUBJECT: CABLE TV PIRACY IN TRINIDAD 
 
REF: POS 181 
 
PORT OF SP 00000568  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
1. SUMMARY: Trinidad affiliate of DIRECTV has 
threatened legal action against T&T cable company 
Columbus Communications if Columbus does not cease 
illegally broadcasting HBO U.S. signals.  The threat 
appears to be partly directed at the T&T regulator, 
which as yet has taken no action to require Columbus to 
air only those channels for which it has licenses.  End 
summary. 
 
2. The days may be numbered for Trinidad & Tobago cable 
TV viewers that are used to seeing premium movie 
channels, showing the same broadcast streams as seen in 
the U.S.  DIRECTV Trinidad, Ltd., part of California- 
based DIRECTV Group, announced on May 4 that it would 
take legal action against monopoly Trinidad cable TV 
provider, Columbus Communications, if the cable company 
did not cease its transmission of unlicensed feeds of 
HBO and related channels.  The company and HBO jointly 
declared that DIRECTV is the only company with rights 
to show HBO programming in T&T.  Columbus entered the 
local market in January with its purchase of incumbent 
provider CCTT, and has a concession from the GOTT to 
provide cable services. 
 
------------------------------------- 
TV piracy - an old story in T&T 
------------------------------------- 
 
3. The issue of piracy of U.S. satellite feeds has 
existed in T&T since the 1990s.  U.S. satellite 
coverage "footprints" extend to some Caribbean islands, 
making it easy for local companies to download U.S. 
domestic transmissions.  Advantages for local consumers 
have included seeing U.S. sports events on ESPN and 
latest cable releases of Hollywood films on channels 
like Starz, HBO and Showtime.  Viewers of Latin 
American affiliates of those channels experience lags 
of six months or later, as rights holders withhold 
films until they have finished their theatrical runs. 
U.S. rights holders did not take steps to halt those 
transmissions, partly because the markets are small and 
the cost of negotiating separately with companies in 
each island nation is prohibitive.  However, pressure 
to conform led CCTT to make subtle changes, shifting 
some channels, such as Turner Classic Movies and TNT, 
to Latin American feeds (TCM-LA and TNT-LA), dropping 
ESPN in favor of ESPNdeportes, and so forth.  But 
transmission of U.S. feeds of HBO, Cinemax, TMC and 
others continue unchanged. 
 
4. Meanwhile, DIRECTV operates in accordance with U.S. 
IP rules, and does not transmit U.S. satellite feeds, 
except as permitted by agreements it may have with 
rights holders.  It has chafed at the continuing theft 
of those feeds by the cable operator, which gave CCTT a 
competitive advantage in urban areas. 
 
5. In 2004 U.S. rights holders approached Embassy to 
explore how they might induce CCTT to cease 
transmitting U.S. satellite feeds.  They followed up by 
visiting T&T and meeting with GOTT officials, econoffs 
and DIRECTV.  Last year some of those companies sought 
to negotiate some kind of license with CCTT.  While 
those talks showed promise, they did not lead to any 
agreement.  Meanwhile, GOTT established a cable TV 
committee that made recommendations to the government 
at the end of the year.  That report went to the GOTT 
Cabinet in February and remains there. 
 
------------------------------ 
Regulatory Regime Changes 
------------------------------ 
 
6. The regulator, Telecommunications Authority of T&T 
(TATT), took the position last year that it was 
powerless to impose penalties on CCTT for unlicensed 
transmission of U.S. channels on grounds that CCTT had 
received its authority to broadcast before the 2004 
establishment of TATT.  However, the arrival of 
Columbus Communications has changed the equation.  A 
standard clause in TATT concession documents awarded 
since February 2005 for broadcasters is the following: 
"The concessionaire shall not broadcast any programmes, 
information or other material without first obtaining 
all required permissions from the relevant owners of 
any intellectual property in such programmes, 
information and other material, and shall not otherwise 
infringe the intellectual property rights of any 
 
PORT OF SP 00000568  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
person."  A TATT official confirmed to Econ Chief that 
the Columbus Communications concession document also 
contains this language.  We note that TATT is in the 
process of considering issuing concessions to 
additional companies for provision of cable services, 
and IPR language would certainly be in those award 
documents as well. 
 
-------------------------------- 
Taking a New Tack Against Piracy 
-------------------------------- 
 
7. Aware of this commitment, DIRECTV communicated its 
concern to TATT about continuing signal theft, but we 
understand that the company has not received 
satisfaction from the regulator.  The latest twist in 
the story was the announcement by HBO and DIRECTV, 
which was published in the April 29 Trinidad Express. 
An excerpt is as follows:  "HBO announced today that 
DIRECTV is the only multi-channel provider in Trinidad 
and Tobago authorized to use HBO trademarks and 
broadcast HBO programming.  HBO's Director Affiliate 
Relations for Latin America and the Caribbean - Luis 
Fonseca - confirms that `DIRECTV is the only company 
licensed to broadcast HBO and Cinemax services in 
Trinidad and Tobago.'" 
 
8. In discussing with Econ Chief his latest tactic in 
the ongoing struggle against signal theft, DIRECTV 
Trinidad general manager Bernard Pantin underscored 
that DIRECTV did not have an exclusive right to those 
programs, but was the only company currently authorized 
to do so.  He told us that his May 4 threat, which was 
the cover story in the Trinidad Guardian the next day, 
was an effort to provoke some form of action since 
Columbus was continuing the illegal transmissions of 
its predecessor, CCTT. 
 
9. In its public response, Columbus has admitted that 
it lacks an agreement with HBO.  It claims, however, 
that its customers deserve the latest possible programs 
(i.e., U.S. market feeds), and asserts that it would be 
subject to receiving Spanish language programming (HBO 
reps earlier told Econ Chief that rebroadcasters could 
choose between audio tracks on its programming).  For 
his part, TATT Executive Director John Prince has not 
taken a position yet, though he was quoted in the 
Express as saying he did not any information or 
evidence that Columbus was pirating. 
 
10. COMMENT:  The threat by DIRECTV to sue Columbus is 
unlikely to lead to swift judicial action.  It may be 
more successful in prodding TATT to prevail upon 
Columbus to negotiate a license with HBO, as its 
license terms require.  We note that TATT was effective 
last year in postponing for a full week the planned 
launch of TV station CNC-3, which TATT claimed had 
failed to obtain its permission to operate.  TATT also 
has an eye on future market entrants, and has an 
interest in providing competent and fair regulation. 
Either way, an end could be in sight to the long- 
running era of U.S. satellite-signal theft. 
 
SWEENEY