MCINTOSH…decisions should be made keeping in mind the interest of the viewers and we have ensured that we have made the channels available to all
There is still uncertainty as to whether Flow or Digicel customers across the region will be able to watch the English Premier League which kicks off this Friday with Arsenal facing Crystal Palace in a London derby.
Uncertainties first emerged after Verticast Media Group, led by president and CEO Oliver McIntosh, won the rights to broadcast the world’s most popular sports league for the 2022/23 to 2024/25 season.
“In Jamaica, we’ve been able to sign with a number of cable operators,” McIntosh told The Jamaica Observer while he mentions a few, including Home Time Cable and Cornwall Communications, while adding, “We’re in the process of signing five or six other operators, basically covering a large part of the country. Where the gap is obviously, is in Kingston, St Andrew and parts of St Catherine, because Digicel and Flow are there,” he continued.
Neither of the two telcos have signed up with Verticast Media to offer its channels, C-Sports and C-Sports 2 on their platform across the region.
“Over the last 60 days we have been working with cable operators across the region to get them to carry the channels that will show Premier League football and all the other content, and we have been able to sign up operators cable to almost every Caribbean Country. So from the Bahamas to Cayman to St Lucia to St Kitts to Jamaica to Trinidad and Tobago to Barbados to Guyana, we’re pretty spread out in terms of our channels that will be carried by companies cable. Also in the Dominican Republic, and we’re looking to sign up cable companies in the French-speaking Caribbean as well,” McIntosh added.
“We’ve made standard offers to everyone and hopefully by the time the round starts on August 5, we’ll be able to sign up. [Digicel and Flow] as well,” McIntosh told him Business Observer as he expressed the hope that the attitude of the two telecommunication companies will change in the coming days. McIntosh, however, did not disclose the terms of the deal offered to Flow and Digicel.
However, he noted, “Decisions have to be made with the interest of the viewers in mind and we have made sure that we have made the channels available to everyone. So people in Cayman, Bermuda, Barbados, Guyana, St Kitts, St Lucia , they’ll all have access to it through their cable operators. We think that’s in the best interest of viewership, but we hope to get [a deal with Flow and Digicel] Friday.”
Contacted for comment on the progress of talks between Digicel and Verticast, Antonia Graham, the group’s head of telecommunications, gave a curt response: “No comment on that.”
She did however add, “We sent a text on July 22 saying that Rush will not be broadcasting [English] Premier League for the 2022/23 season.” When asked if Digicel will bring the C-Sport channel to its platform, we were simply told: “I have nothing to add on that.”
A source told him Business Observer that the issue with Digicel is personal, since McIntosh worked for it SportMax channel, first in setting it up, selling it to the telecom provider and then unsuccessfully trying to buy it back.
For his part, Flow answered him Business Observer noting that, while it is continually expanding its sports offering and original content for the region’s growing sports audience, “Unfortunately, we were unable to add the English Premier League to this impressive line-up without materially increasing the cost of our existing television packages and packages.”
It did not say how much the cost would increase. Verticast, however, said consumers can “trust its cost to be quite reasonable.”
However, Flow added: “Verticast, the current rights holder, has announced direct access to view this content (including full EPL matches, highlights and stats) via their website and mobile customer app/ broadband We look forward to customers streaming full matches, highlights and stats on our high speed internet from the comfort of their home or on the go using our prepaid or postpaid mobile service once the official site name is launched online and in the app.”
Flow and Digicel previously offered the English Premier League on their joint venture sports channel, Rush, from the 2019/20 to 2021/22 season.
Flow also offers other sports programming, including UEFA Champions League, Bundesliga, Diamond League, West Indies cricket and new exclusive World Wrestling Entertainment content coming later this year.
Verticast however said that unless a deal is reached with Flow and Digicel before Friday’s start of the new English Premier League season, matches will be available on its free-to-air streaming services until August 31. C-Sports streaming will be available through the website, C-Sports.tv.
“On that streaming service you will be able to see the channels, plus the extra content and all the matches from the premier league and highlights and clips and so on, so it will all be available for people to watch. In the coming weeks we will be detailing commercially how people will be able to continue watching it through the streaming service, August 31 post.”
The company also plans to launch its apps next week after completing the approval process.
In addition to the English Premier Leagues, Verticast has also acquired the rights to the FIFA World Cup for this region and has acquired the rights to broadcast NFL matches, Euro ’24 and ’28 and other European football competitions such as the Nations League.
It is not clear how much Verticast paid for its right to broadcast the English Premier League in the region.
However, the Premier League’s revenue from broadcasting deals over the next three seasons will see English football break the £10 billion (US$13.5 billion) barrier, according to a report earlier this year by recentlya newspaper based in Britain.
The report also says the league’s clubs have been told its overseas broadcast partnerships will be worth more than domestic rights deals for the first time.
For the rights cycle 2022-2025, recently says international deals will be worth £5.3 billion ($7.1 billion), up 30 percent, while domestic deals bring in £5.1 billion ($6.9 billion), with trade partnerships bringing the total to £10.5 billion (US$14.2). billion).
