Press Release – URCA Issues Final Decision on CBL’s Pay TV Repackaging Applications
8 July 2021
The Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA) today published its Statement of Results and Final Decision in response to the applications made by Cable Bahamas Limited (CBL) to restructure its residential and business pay television packages. CBL submitted the application for residential REVTV offers on 27 October 2020 and later submitted the application for business REVTV offers on 20 January 2021.
URCA, having reviewed and analysed the applications and its supporting documentation, has approved CBL’s repackaging applications. The approval inter alia requires CBL to notify URCA of the implementation date for the changes and give customers a minimum of six weeks’ notice before the repackaging comes into effect. All terms and conditions associated with the changes must be communicated widely across mediums both before and after the implementation of the changes.
The URCA approved changes only apply to consumers in areas where CBL has a two-way digital cable TV network: New Providence, Grand Bahama, Abaco, and parts of Eleuthera. URCA’s complete final decision can be found in Section 2 of the published document.
The approved changes include the following:
• REVTV Prime channels will decrease from 72 to 68. However CBL proposes several channel changes in keeping with customers preferred channels,
• There is no price change for residential or business REVTV Prime customers,
• Customers will no longer be required to subscribe to REVTV PRO in order to access premium channels,
• Customers with the entry level REVTV Prime, can now subscribe to premium packages;
All terms and conditions associated with the changes must be communicated widely across mediums both before and after the implementation of the changes.
The complete Statement of Results and Final Decision provide details on how URCA arrived at its decision and includes a summary of responses gathered during the consultation process.
As the applications were determined by URCA to be matters of public importance, URCA launched a public consultation on CBL’s applications to repackage its offers on 19 March 202. The public consultation document contained the independent regulator’s preliminary views and invited feedback from the public. Today’s decision follows an extensive consultative process which included a virtual town hall meeting, focus groups, social media postings and written submissions from members of the general public. URCA has considered all written and verbal feedback in making its final decision.
Despite URCA’s efforts to educate the public during the consultation period, there was a a misconception held by some that the entire repackaging proposal was driven solely around a price increase. URCA has provided a complete breakdown of what the changes entail in Section 1of its final decision.
URCA finds it necessary to address customers’ discontent with CBL’s service quality, a recurring theme in the consultation responses. The independent regular has found the widespread service quality issues concerning and will launch an investigation to address these recurring complaints.
The complete Statement of Results and Final Decision provide details on how URCA arrived at its decision and also includes a summary of responses gathered during the consultation process. The document can be found here.
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MEDIA CONTACT:
Mavis Johnson Collie
Corporate and Consumer Relations Manager
Utilities Regulation & Competition Authority
Telephone: (242) 396-5201
Email: mjcollie@urcabahamas.bs
Fax: (242) 393-0153
