Copyright laws create hole in TV content

| 30/12/2015 | 32 Comments

TV(CNS): The new owners of the local television station say the programme line-up will be changing significantly on Friday when Cayman’s copyright and intellectual property legislation comes into force because much of the current content is not properly licensed in Cayman. “With the new legislation the company must make changes to ensure that all of its content is properly licensed,” Randy Merren, Hurley’s Media CEO, said.

“We knew the copyright law was coming and we will have our house in order by the time it becomes law. We know our audience will be surprised with the major changes in our prime time lineup but we want viewers to understand the reason,” he added.

Given that many shows are licensed by other cable channels for the region, the new law will mean “sweeping changes”, the TV boss stated.

This will see a significant expansion of locally produced news and talk shows. Cayman 27 will be adding a live mid-day news report at noon each weekday and will extend its evening newscast to 90 minutes each weekday evening, starting at 5:30pm. The political talk show, “The Panel”, will be re-launched and broadcast on Thursdays, and “The Premier Show” and “Let’s Talk Sports” will remain on their normal days in the 7 – 8pm weeknight time slot.

“Cayman 27 has always been an important part of the entertainment landscape of our island. We will continue to expand our local news offerings and look to broaden our entertainment programming as opportunities arise,” Merren said.

Cayman 27 will still broadcast some television classics during the daytime, including “I Love Lucy”, “Bonanza”, “Cheers” and others. Shows such as “Madame Secretary”, “CSI Miami” and “Late Night with Steven Colbert” will be available in the evening hours but much of the non-local content will disappear.

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Comments (32)

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  1. Anonymous says:

    Netflix and Chill?

  2. TV-Man says:

    It is obvious that most of the posters, and most of the population, cannot distinguish between the free over-the-air UHF broadcaster, Cayman 27, and the three cable-TV companies.
    Understandable since when ‘local’ TV started up it was based on a free service to anyone with an ordinary TV antenna; the cable system was put together as a subscription service to provide funds for the free service. So it looked and operated as one combined organisation.
    Now the ‘free’ service is out on it’s own, it cannot survive without the support of an associated cable service, OR subsidy by a rich person who wants it for his own purposes.

  3. Anonymous says:

    What’s Cayman 27?

  4. Anonymous says:

    First of all Cayman 27 is a tv station, not at cable operation. Logic did not have anything to do with this move.
    Secondly, this has nothing to do with the new Copyright law. Cayman 27 had a legal contract with CBS to air it’s programming. The cost was simply too high. The new owner or owners-(Dart) of Cayman 27 simply didn’t want to spend the money. The new copyright law is a ruse to prevent more public backlash.

  5. Maximus says:

    Why anyone pays for cable is beyond me.

    You’re literally paying to watch corporate America teach you how to become a mindless consumer drone… and it’s not cheap either!

    Ads ads and more ads… watch a little bit of the movie or show, and then ads ads ads… what a waste of time

    Internet based streaming is most certainly the way to go – costs the same as the internet connection you have now, no ads, watch what you want, when you want… what a concept!

    The only thing cable has going for it is live sports, but even this can be streamed if you know where to go…

  6. Brian Tomlinson says:

    I am disappointed they dropped WGN. That was one of the first TV stations available in Cayman in the 80’s when satellite dishes became available. That’s why we have a lot of Chicago sports fans. It’s cutting away a 30+-year cultural tie.

  7. Anonymous says:

    We already pay twice as much as the main land providers for half as much. So why can they not just licence the content? I love Lucy.. REALLY.

  8. Anonymous says:

    Thank goodness I don’t have a T.V. I always thought it was a waste of money.

  9. Anonymous says:

    I have been a loyal customer for years but I’ve been frustrated with the changes lately. With this latest news, I will be terminating my service with them and going elsewhere. we are not getting our moneys worth and offering more local news shows won’t suffice.

    • Anonymous says:

      The cable company did not make these changes. Cayman 27 did. The Cable companies simply carry the channel on their system. They have no control over what Randy wants to do.

  10. Debbie says:

    Just another day in the private sector. Can’t you all do anything right? Guess the civil service will have to fix this roo.

  11. Anonymous says:

    Where is this law? I didn’t hear anything about it being passed! Where can I find it CNS?

    CNS: See here

  12. Anonymous says:

    So more Mexican programming? For years they’ve been stealing programming and selling to us. I guess they’ll increase their fees now that they have to pay for programming. RAPE!

    • Anonymous says:

      Cayman 27 is not the cable company. It is an independent TV Channel carried by the cable companies, which have no control over what Cayman 27 does.

      It’s all a lie anyway. Randy/Dart/Cayman 27 had a contract with CBS to air it’s programming. It was perfectly legal to do so. They just didn’t resign when the contract was up. The changes have nothing to do with a copyright law and everything to do with money.

  13. Anonymous says:

    Basically what this article says is since other cable companies complained that this (the shows they were airing) was stolen content this law was passed. Since this law was passed Cayman 27 now has to have actual licensing agreements in place to air programs. From what it seems is they still have their CBS affiliation so those shows will remain and they are signing or have signed some syndicated agreements for old non first run shows like Cheers.

    • Anonymous says:

      They did not have a CBS affiliation. They had a contract to air current CBS programming, which is different. It looks like they negotiated down to air older shows from the 50’s and 60’s to save money, not to avoid copyright infringement. That story is nothing but subterfuge. The current CBS programs will probably air on a different channel on your cable network, but they will not be airing again on Cayman 27.

  14. Island Honkey says:

    Let the cord cutting commence. With VPN’s and high speed internet who needs to buy TV packages?

  15. SKEPTICAL says:

    Why couldn’t they have given earlier warning, and why haven’t they published their new programme guide highlighting changes.

  16. Anonymous says:

    “We can’t steal the good stuff now, so get ready for local rubbish instead.”

  17. Sharkey says:

    Here comes the monopoly of television in the Cayman Islands, and what you can see and hear on television.

    • Anonymous says:

      Just get a proxy or VPN and watch US or UK TV. Anything is going to be better than local content.

  18. Anonymous says:

    decoded:
    we have to stop stealing

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