CBS PARAMOUNT REACHES DEAL WITH FLOW

UNCLAS PORT OF SPAIN 000501 SIPDIS SENSITIVE STATE FOR EB/TPP/IPE AND WHA/CAR E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETRD KIPR TD SUBJECT: CBS PARAMOUNT REACHES DEAL WITH FLOW SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED; PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY REF: (A) 07 POS 1154 (B) POS 374 ¶1. (SBU) In an ongoing effort to legitimize its content, Trinidad and Tobago's major cable TV provider Flow recently purchased the rights to all news, public affairs, entertainment, and sports content owned by CBS Paramount. Flow now holds the non-exclusive rights to broadcast these shows in Trinidad and Tobago for a period of two years beginning January 1, 2009. ¶2. (SBU) While this agreement demonstrates Flow's commitment to regularize its broadcasts, Flow continues to provide ABC, CBS, and NBC local U.S.-based affiliates' signals to its subscribers illegally. Since CBS Paramount does not own the rights to a number of shows aired by these domestic affiliates, it is not able to pursue the matter through legal channels despite a newly strengthened copyright law in Trinidad and Tobago. To push the issue forward, the individual rights holder would have to pursue the matter with local authorities. In the absence of legal action by rights holders, the Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago has expressed reluctance to intervene and prohibit Flow from showing these channels, given their popularity with viewers in T&T. AUSTIN