TELECOMMUNICATIONS giant Digicel is a step closer to its ambition of becoming the top communications company in the region with the acquisition of the Caribbean sports cable network SportsMax.
Digicel Jamaica CEO Barry O’Brien, who was speaking at a press briefing at the Usain Bolt-owned Tracks and Records yesterday, told the Jamaica Observer the feedback to the announcement of the merger has been most positive.
“It’s a truly great merger. We were brought together for the love of sports.
Digicel is the number one mobile company and our ambition is to become the number one communications company,” said O’Brien.
Digicel has acquired majority ownership and control of St Lucia-based International Media Content Ltd, the parent company of regional sports broadcaster, SportsMax, and North American broadcaster CEENTV, for an undisclosed sum.
Under the terms of the deal, the founder and a number of the lead principals, will continue to have an ownership stake and will be involved in the day-to-day running of the IMC operation.
“The feedback has been very positive. Most people when they see Digicel coming into things know it’s going to be bigger and better and we are not going to do it halfway,” said O’Brien, before relaxing to watch the Manchester City/Chelsea English Premier League clash at the upscale sports bar.
“We are going to grow SportsMax. Our vision is everybody with a tablet or a mobile (phone) will be able to watch sports wherever they want to go and they will have the best in class, high definition sports and local content as well,” he added. SportsMax, which was formed in 2002, is a sports channel that is transmitted regionally to 23 countries through cable operators in the Caribbean.
It had brought to viewers over the years, the Barclays Premier League, the FIFA World Cup, The UEFA Champions League, World Cup Qualifiers, COPA America, West Indies away tours, the Indian Premier League, The Australian Big Bash, The ASHES as well as all international cricket from Australia, India, New Zealand, and England.
They have also had scheduled broadcasts of select IAAF Grand Prix meets featuring the Caribbean and the world’s best athletes each season. Oliver McIntosh, SportsMax’s president and CEO, noted that it will be business as usual despite this being the beginning of a new phase for both companies.
“It all came together very rapidly between the two teams. What it means for viewers in the Caribbean who love sports, having two sports loving companies coming together, means more content in more ways,” said McIntosh. “For us it’s an exciting period. It allows the SportsMax team more opportunities because we all have the same objectives,” he added.
Only recently, Digicel announced the acquisition of Telstar Cable Limited, having received the required approvals from the Broadcasting Commission.
Telstar Cable Limited is a leading provider of cable TV, broadband and fixed telephony services in Jamaica. With the deal completed, Digicel will progress its plans to invest significantly in the network to increase coverage and further expand the products, services and content available to cable customers in Jamaica.
“It’s a very important component of our strategy to become this full communications company and it ties very nicely into the subscriber television business we are actually entering into. So what we will have is subscriber television and we will have content as well.
Then we are enabling this with ultra quick fibre roll out along with fix lines so you will be able to get an entire solution here,” noted O’Brien.
SOURCE- JAMAICA OBSERVER
