Belize City, Wed. July 28, 2021– Belizeans learned last week that it was very possible that they would not be able to view the live coverage of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after the Belize Cable Television Operators Association (BCTVOA) issued a release which stated that the regional holder of the rights to broadcast the Olympics, Concord Media Group, a local subsidiary of International Media Content Limited (IMC), was charging operators US$40,000 for permission to broadcast the games locally.

Following these developments, however, Concord Media Group released a statement of their own dated July 26, 2021, in which the company asserted that they “have not had any discussions with the BCTVOA regarding content pricing” and that the BCTVOA “flatly refused” to engage in discussions with them when they tried to initiate negotiations. Concord also stated that they were still willing to negotiate the pricing and distribution of the rights to broadcast the Olympics with other content providers in the country if needs be.

In an apparent bid to bring the games to the screens of Belizeans, Concord reportedly created an online streaming platform (i.e. Omistreamz) through which Belizeans could receive a thirty-day free trial that would give them access to four global Sportsmax and NBC channels so that they could see the games. This apparently did not sit well with the BCTVOA and roused them to issue yet another statement, in which they further highlighted their rift with Concord in relation to broadcasting rights in the country. The BCTVOA stated that they “made tireless efforts over the past five years, to negotiate with programmers for copyright-compliant content at affordable costs to allow for equal access to each of its member cable operators, large and small.” “It is through these cable operators and the fees that are paid to programmers that Belizeans nationwide are able to enjoy their favourite content on cable television at the regulated package price,” the release said.

The BCTVOA went on to state in the release that the programmer with which they were to negotiate the purchase of the rights for broadcast of the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics was the IMC and that under The Broadcasting and Television Act of the Laws of Belize, the BCTVOA is the “sole entity to engage in the purchase of rights to broadcast content for its members.” The release further goes on to imply that the platform offered to Belizeans by Concord is illegal. It referenced section 5A (7), which states that “it is unlawful for a person who holds a television license under section 5 and who offers a cable programme service, or for any other person, other than the Association, to be a licensee or assignee of a cinematograph film, cable programme, or broadcast, and in that capacity to offer it to the Association or, to any other person for distribution to members of the Association”.

The BCTVOA went on to reiterate that they were not required to entertain any negotiations with Concord Media Group and stated that it “considers that the only licensor to which it owes a discussion on acquiring rights is IMC, and not CMG.” The BCTVOA further said that they made every effort to properly acquire the broadcasting rights through the IMC, which CMG themselves had acknowledged in their statement on the 25th. Unfortunately, the BCTVOA claims it was “faced with prohibitive licensing costs”. The Belize Cable Television Operators Association concluded its release by asserting that it would not contravene the law by engaging any entity other than the IMC, as it would undermine the economic interest of its members and the public when trying to negotiate future content rights.