As most of you are aware I, with my wife Joan, was one of the pioneers of local broadcast television. We started CITN- Cayman International Television (International) Network – known as Cayman27 in 1992. The first over the air broadcast was made on September 11^th and comprised colour bars. We were not allowed then to air anything but that.

It was only after some canvassing we were then permitted to show CNN Headline News whilst we got ready to show local programming comprising mainly our News at 6.

We were in competition with the late Desmond Seales’ CiTV broadcast station that had been given a head start by the government – originally a year – but then they withdraw that order.

We employed WestStar TV to manage the station and provide more financing in November the same year. Up until then all the financing came from Joan and myself  and we went through $1.5M in just six months – that is how costly television is at start up.

Bobby Bodden who owned the third television franchise Cayman television Service –CTS- came under the same umbrella.

The government’s number one priority was local broadcasting. They were insistent that all three stations had to provide so many hours of local programming, news and sports being top percentages with religion and locally produced shows following behind.

At least one third of the output had to be local.

It was very costly and advertising revenue, that had been and was predominantly print, did not cover even a quarter of the costs.

The government knew this and to subsidise the broadcast conditions and help sweeten the financial bad tooth we were each given ten channels (MMDS – wireless cable) for paid subscriber programming.

When CiTV, who had been approached to come under the umbrella, but for various reasons did not want to, ceased broadcasting, his 10 channels were added into our mix.

However, the cost of providing three local broadcast stations under the strict requirements of local content was still too costly. Government sensibly allowed us to continue with one – CITN-Cayman27 – and CTS-Island24 became a 24 hour local community video show aimed at Cayman’s tourists.

I was very proud to have been at the start of television and INDEPENDENT local broadcast content is essential for our country.

I am not going to go into the reasons for Joan and my departure from the television scene that came to an abrupt end as soon as the ICTA took over as the licensing authority from government, except to say it was not something we wanted.

It had been noted, however, that under the new regulations there was no strict provision that any television provider had to engage in the expense of a local free over the air broadcast station. It just mentioned licensed TV providers should deliver some local free television without going into the specifics, as was the case in the first government television licenses.

When I raised this at the very first open meeting of the ICTA I was told that was still a government requirement and they had the final say. Everyone would be treated the same and if WestStar had to provide a local broadcast station so would everyone else.

Then Government on November 5^th 2012 started there own television broadcast station CIGTV – Cayman Islands Government Television (CIGTV) – it must have taken seconds to come up with that name!

The ICTA has never been a proponent of local broadcasting. They are a regulatory body only. When they announced to the new players that have come in since the advent of the Internet through digital streaming to computers/iPads, smartphones, etc. the CIGTV would meet the local broadcast requirements WestStar naturally were angry.

The new players, Infinity (known as C3), Digicel, LIME, and Logic, have danced onto the band wagon very happy and government are, I believe, quite content to allow them to use CIGTV as the local broadcast requirement.

I expect CIGTV will be soliciting advertising, exactly as does Radio Cayman, the government radio station, to help pay its bill and debt burden. Otherwise we have to pay all of it.

CIGTV is a government propaganda machine and should NOT be allowed to be the only source of broadcast content.

There is a strong likelihood that CITN-Cayman27 will be forced to close down if CIGTV is allowed to fill the local broadcast content requirement.

That the ICTA have now issued a public review on the future of local television is to appease WestStar and to show they have asked the public.

Has the public got the time and inclination to wade through a document containing 17 pages of questions and given only 4 weeks that includes Easter, to submit their answers? I think not. However, I implore you, to.

The way the ICTA has worded the document it is even answering their own questions.

1.         Should each Television Service Licencee be obligated to provide a Local Television service?

2.         How should Local Content be defined?

3.         a.         Should there be a quality standard as to the Local Content produced?

b.         In relation to 3. a., if there should, what should that quality standard be?

c.          Who is best placed to assess whether Local Content meets the quality standard?

4.         a.         How many hours of Local Content per day should each Licensee provide?

b.         When should the Local Content be shown?

c.          How much of that Local Content should be original?

5.         How should the production and provision of Local Television be funded?

6.         Should Licensees be obligated to commission a certain percentage of their Local Content from local producers?

7.         How should Local Television be provided to customers?

That doesn’t look to bad unless you read the 68 paragraphs of explanations and comments that go under all the questions.

The ICTA already providing their own thoughts then asks whether the public believes, given the cost of producing original programming, whether television service licensees should still be obligated to provide any kind of local television service? Then it states  “it is unlikely that any TV service provider would produce local TV programmes without being obligated”.

I fear the pendulum is swinging against local television and I fear the majority of the public just don’t care.

Government like to control and if they control local content that is good for them.