PART THREE: CASE STUDY 1: New Trends in Ownership and Programming

This case study supports the indicators of economic costs of local television production, the abundance of foreign television programs and the dynamics of power and control in ownership.

Most of the information on this case of Marpin TV was obtained from taped interviews conducted with the executive director of the company, Ronald B.M. Abraham, from historical archives of the company as well as my participant observation.

Marpin Television began operation in 1983. The goal from the start was to remain private and to have no political affiliation. The company believed that its responsibility was to work with any government in power. Before Marpin Television could get a license to operate, it had to obtain an agreement with the government. A television company of that nature was relatively new in the region so there was much difficulty in laying ground rules that would allow the government and the company to exist side by side.

The company officials believed that at the inception, the government in its quest for revenue, made demands that were too high. Obtaining a license was a most difficult feat. According to Abraham (1992), most of the satellite signals at that time were being pirated from the United States and the governments of the region were threatened with “aid withdrawal” should this practice continue. The government of Dame Mary Eugenia Charles, which was closely linked to the Reagan administration, insisted that Marpin Television had to have rights to access cable television before the company could be granted a license to operate on the island.

A religious affiliation brought about the existence of Marpin TV. The executive director was an executive of the Full Gospel Businessmen Fellowship International. This organization had a satellite and gave Marpin TV the rights to operate on that satellite. With that hurdle crossed, government posed a further obstacle in the form of a levy, demanding that Marpin TV pay sixteen percent of gross earning. The founders felt that this would bankrupt the company before it even started. Despite all forms of negotiations, the government insisted that nothing would change.

The government further requested a considerable amount of airtime – an hour per channel per day. Marpin TV immediately saw that this request would mean a serious loss in revenue for the company.

Despite these circumstances, the company did not see these actions as government’s efforts to control the life of the station. Abraham said they believed that the government wanted a “piece of the pie” (money) and wanted access. The government was never able to produce sufficient programs to use up its requested space on the channels. Only one thirty-minute program was aired weekly. It was reported that the previous government of Patrick Roland John claimed that television was a time-consuming and costly venture. John’s government passed a law that stipulated that each individual who owned a television set would pay to the government fifty Eastern Caribbean dollars.  Interestingly that law was still on the statues in 1992, but today the application has become impractical.

Marpin TV took pride in its claim to having begun without foreign monies. Yet, the single majority shareholder who had been residing in the Commonwealth of Dominica for over fifteen years had dual citizenship. The company licensed as a cable station aimed at bringing signals to households for a fee. However, the company, from its inception placed great emphasis on local television programs. Why did the company choose cable over broadcast? The topography. The island is mountainous and signal transmission would be affected in both quality and delivery. With a working population of about thirty thousand on the island, Marpin TV realized that it would not be able to yield continuous profit with broadcast TV and despite the geographical and technical limitations; cable television was the sole alternative. The company chose that path because it meant a steady income from subscribers’ fees and provided the chance to reap minimal profits or additional income from advertising and small-scale productions.

According to Marpin TV, the company quickly learned that there was an acute need for local entertainment, education and information. He said that, “to contribute these was really the most ethical thing to do”. Marpin Television boasted its provision of low-cost entertainment, increased education and information about local developments to the islanders. The company shared the concern of many over the abundance of foreign programming. In an interview, Abraham addressed the situation this way:

“Government, right from the beginning expressed concern about foreign material (advertisement), that it would create new expectations that people may not be able to realize. My knowledge of people worked differently to that view. I felt that when the poor man, the average person on the street saw something on the television that he wanted and could not get, it would increase his creativity and he would find ways of making it himself or (make) something that would work quite similar (a substitute). Now ten years later…I was quite correct.” (Interview, Roseau, July 13 1992).

Marpin TV believed that foreign television had not created the expected unhappiness that was originally forecasted. The company admitted that its only promise was to relay cable signals, a situation which had viewers satisfied. As time went on the company saw the need to go into local television program to balance the overwhelming amounts of American television.

Abraham said, they discovered that if the company failed to show, for example, the movie channel there was greater viewer dissatisfaction than if they failed to show a local program. From the start, he said, “local programming was valued as an addition to the foreign material. What subscribers really wanted were movies, news and sports”. Marpin TV market survey conducted by Pelam Services proved that viewers were interested in four main program types namely Soap Operas, News, Sports and Comedy.

The survey further showed that the favorite program among every age group was foreign soap opera, The Young and the Restless. Among the 25-45 age group (the viable working population), the local weekly news package News Focus came in second. News Focus was later replaced with Special Report and Under Fire, both short-lived. In addition, a popular live weekly talk show What About was a local program staple for over 12 years.

In the Pelam Survey, the top five favorite programs among the 14-25 age group were all foreign program. Results showed an increase in viewer selection of local/regional comedy and news. Generally, the company’s local weekly news package News Focus and the CBU flagship weekly magazine CARIBSCOPE, were the top-ranking local favorites.

A sample of favorite programs by gender for weekend prime time is in table 1. This data are adapted from Pelam Services 1990 Marpin TV Market Study. About 284 households were interviewed. On this small island, 33% of the population regularly viewed Marpin Television. The reader will note that the favorite programs are foreign in content and origin. During the non-prime time on weekdays, the Oprah Winfrey Show was an all- around favorite. No local programs aired in non-primetime.

The company made less than ten percent of its gross income in sponsorship and advertisement. The income received from producing local production for businesses and groups was even lower. Advertising income never rose above 0.1% of the company’s gross income. The company agreed that local production was a burden but a service that it must provide to the viewers. Marpin TV was aware that while everyone, including the government, would have liked to see more local television programs no one was willing to spend money to make it a reality. Abraham lamented that it seemed easier to get sponsorship for international cricket than for a local sports program. The battle of quality and cost seemed constant and the company had to shoulder these at its expense. Despite these hard times, the company proudly ranked itself as one of the most frequent suppliers of reports and features to the CBU for inclusion in CARIBSCOPE (the weekly, Caribbean magazine program). Local production rose from a mere half hour in 1980 to a weekly total of six hours by late 1990s. Five percent of the system’s total programming hours was local. Not even the government could afford to produce programs to fill the channels space it demanded. The estimated cost of the ten hours of local programming was about half a million US dollars. The problem was not only with the cost. Marpin TV blamed poor stakeholders’ response for the lack of simple and informative programs.

Often it was difficult to get a person at the source of an issue to come forward. Much of this was due to the level of the political structure of the islands. A clerk or officer in many government departments could not release information to the media even if that information was of public interest and the constitution provides individuals the right to free access to the information. In the Commonwealth of Dominica, the Public Service Act of 1991 placed restrictions only on classified information, however, it seemed that all information had to be cleared with a superior and that chain of clearance extended as high up as the prime minister. Despite the challenges, the company continued to expand its reach throughout the island and hoped to increase local television programs to at least ten hours weekly.

Local television production required trained staff. Throughout the life of Marpin TV, training opportunities were provided for production staff. Training came from the Corporation of Public Broadcasting, CNN and the CBU. These training opportunities came because of the business affiliations that existed between Marpin TV and those organizations. To aid in internal training the production department used best practices from the BBC, and from training workshops conducted by more experienced production staffers. We learned to incorporate the natural environment in all of our productions thus enhancing the appeal of the footage in our productions. In addition, we defended the presence of natural ambiance in our finished work. We were okay with birds chirping or rivers flowing during an interview about cancer or adult education. After all, we were working in the nature isle.

Further, we built a reputation for production excellence in both the technical and creative aspects of local television production. Between 1991 and 1999, the production department was the training ground for Dominica’s government media workers both reporter and camera operator. I realized too, that we were duped into thinking we had new staff when in fact the CEO had agreed for us to train and release government television staff. Some claimed that training government media staffers was one of the bargaining chips that Abraham used to remain in the good books of the government. Abraham knew that he had to face the government every five years for license renewal.

Production of local television programs require investment in equipment. Marpin TV had a solid, young, intelligent and creative engineering department. After any initial purchase, in house engineers famous for reverse engineering were able to maintain equipment in stellar operating condition for a very long time. The company received gifts of studio cameras from UNESCO, and was part of a CBU member’s equipment purchase collaborative that kept cost manageable.

The work of the local television production was not without political interference. The government, particularly the political machinery that ruled between 1990 and 1995 seem to lay claim on the company. They acted as if the production department was another arm of the government media service. They applied pressure to Abraham, who was vulnerable due to his dependency on the government for licensing and approval of his telecommunication portfolio.

Governments generally has a love/hate relationship with media and Marpin TV was no exception. So, the pioneering of daily news was a threat. What About was a threat, Election Watch was a threat, the opinion of both parties featured in a news story or documentary was a threat. In addition, this one hour per channel per day rule, was a sham. The government wanted to be where the people watched. They craved primetime and any indication that the opposition was featured in prime time gave them a reason to complain and sometimes to ask for the head of the director. Sometimes, Marpin Television obliged the government. Employees in key positions often felt like pawns in the company’s negotiations for licensing and other benefits.

The historical fact that Local television production is costly and time-consuming proved true in the case of Marpin Television. It is difficult to assert that the company spiraled into bankruptcy because of the burden of sustaining non- profitable local production department for over fifteen years. A deeper analysis of the real causes is beyond the scope of this book. However, by the end of 1990s, Marpin Television Company faced bankruptcy and the production of programs suffered. After 12 years of weekly production the reputable weekly Talk Show, What About was no more. Many of the other local programs were discontinued.

Some staffers were released while others moved on to more secure employment. The company maintained a skeletal news team and the production quality and robustness dwindled. Before long, internal management battle in addition to mounting debt resulted in Marpin government through the Dominica Social Security. Subsequently the company was sold to its main rival and telecommunications market liberation enemy, Cable and Wireless, disguised as FLOW.

Local television production in all its robustness and glory faded into a mere wisp of smoke. The landscape is all but barren now. Local programming is relegated to shallow news stories by a few independent cable TV stations and the Government Information Service. Features are mainly undirected one-camera recording of political rallies, funerals and cultural events, such as, carnival and independence celebrations. With the advances in internet support platforms, a few individuals have tapped into content sharing on vlogs and YouTube channels.   These content sharing comprised mainly of self-produced point and shoot eyewitness coverage on current events without necessary background or ways to move a story forward. As it is now so it was in the beginning: Foreign programs/content dominate the cable television airtime.