SportsMax not streaming or broadcasting Champs 2013

Kingston, Jamaica (March 12, 2013): Amidst queries from legions of viewers globally who have come to watch SportsMax’s live stream of the ISSA Boys’ & Girls’ Athletics Championships (Champs) in 2011 & 2012, the leading provider of sports broadcast in the Caribbean, SportsMax, announced that they will not broadcast the 2013 Champs as they do not have the rights. The international television and internet broadcast rights for Boys and Girls Athletic Championships 2013 have been retained by the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA), as they stated in a letter to SportsMax that these broadcast rights for Champs 2013 are not being offered.

Regarding the TV broadcast rights not being offered, SportsMax C.E.O. Olly McIntosh stated “It is quite unusual that for such a major event the TV broadcast rights would not be offered as the association, the student athletes and the fans lose value. In our Company’s history, this is the first we have experienced the TV broadcast rights for an event of this magnitude not being made available.”

SportsMax had provided free, live internet streaming to a global audience since 2011 and had set a Caribbean streaming record for it’s 2011 coverage which saw approximately 100,000 fans of Jamaica’s track & field in more than 127 countries tune in to watch what is arguably the biggest event on Jamaica’s sporting calendar. Additionally, the event was broadcast live to the United States via SportsMax’s sister channel CEEN TV & throughout 24 Caribbean countries on SportsMax.

SportsMax expressed further disappointment at not being able to bring Champs 2013 to the global audience. “We are saddened by ISSA’s decision to not offer the rights, as fans across the Caribbean and the world have come to expect live coverage of Champs. Followng the 2012 success, we had expanded CEEN-TV much further so that we could showcase  CHAMPS to a wider audience, giving them the opportunity to engage with the action in real time and to showcase the talent of our young athletes globally. We do wish ISSA the best with Champs 2013”.

SportsMax is offered in the Cayman Islands on WestStar Cable.