Another pressing BTL issue is the role that Channel 5 plays. BTL paid
over $3 million for the company last year and then paid another $4 million for
Channel 5’s headquarters-to-be on Coney Drive at the old NDFB building.
That’s a total in the range of $7 million – and after Channel 5
was hastily disjoined from BTL on Monday – the question is, what is BTL
left holding after spending those millions of dollars, or was that corporate
charity? The Prime Minister today said he has no interest in the ownership of
Channel 5 – but he is very intent BTL’s owners getting value for
those millions that the phone company spent.
Hon. Dean Barrow,
“The thing is that I have no interest in Channel 5 and if we make
a fight of this and don’t explain clearly the reasons for such a fight,
it might be misinterpreted and there are some who will be all too quick that
we want to get after a media house and that is not my contemplation, not part
of my strategy at all. But to the extent that the company Telemedia, now owned
by the government and people of Belize, has to ensure that it has not been bled
illegally of any asset, I imagine that the good Chairman and the good Board
of the Directors will take legal advice and seek to follow the money.”
Jules Vasquez,
“Because all indications are that BTL money paid for the NDFB building;”
Hon. Dean Barrow,
“Absolutely. We know that it was Telemedia’s money because in
fact the Social Security people tell us and I believe that it was as a result
of some little oddity, some little quirk that Social Security refused to have
the transfer done in the name of Telemedia and that has turned out to be most
unfortunate but the very fact that there was kind of argument proves beyond
a doubt that it was Telemedia’s money and clearly the new Board will have
to in fact insist on this transaction being brought to book.”
In other BTL-related media developments we note that BTL senior managers
have already held meetings with KREMANDALA representatives to normalize relations
with that media house. BTL launched a boycott KREM and Channel 7 in mid 2007
when the vesting bill was passed.
Through the unsolicited mediation of a third party that relationship
with Channel 7 was marginally restored in the latter part of 2008. However,
Channel 7 was still treated as a hostile party when its signal was barred from
CBC’s national cable network earlier this year. And recently this company
had to endure another BTL-affront as the company BTL placed a false, unapproved
and illegal banner on Channel 7’s cable signal into Orange Walk and Corozal
saying “this channel is brought to you by BTL.” That has now been
removed. And so has the ban on KREMANDALA. BTL ads will air on KREM and appear
in Amandala starting tomorrow.
And in another related media development, government reports that Channel
5 has refused to air a pro-government commercial. Government today circulated
a letter from Press Secretary Delroy Cuthkelvin to the Chairman of the Broadcasting
Authority Tony Leslie informing him that channel 5 has refused to air an ad
titled “Act No 9 of 2009.” The ad which aired earlier on in this
newscast outlines government’s rationale for its acquisition of BTL.
But according to Cuthkelvin, it was not aired and he was informed that
it will not be aired. No reason was given, he says. The broadcasting Authority
has reportedly sent a letter to Channel 5 reminding them of Clause 23 of the
terms of their license which states that “the licensee shall not discriminate
unfairly against any particular advertiser.” We’ll see how that
one plays out.
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