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Written by jamaicaobserver.com
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Monday, 25 February 2008 |
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Richard Pardy, chief executive officer of Columbus Communications which operates in Jamaica under the brand name Flow, has dismissed accusations that his firm, through its aggressive acquisition of competitors, is attempting to monopolise the cable television market in Jamaica.
After Flow announced just over a week ago that it had acquired Entertainment Systems Limited, one of the largest cable providers in the Corporate Area, several persons have expressed fear that the heavily-funded firm, backed by billionaire Michael Lee-Chin, would take over the entire industry. This is rooted in the fact that the transaction positions Flow as the largest cable operator in the lucrative Kingston/St Andrew and St Catherine markets, after a string of acquisitions in those parishes. Pardy, however, described the claims as nonsensical, telling the Observer that Flow currently controls a mere one-tenth of the market and is only aiming to procure 25 per cent. "This monopoly thing is just so far-based, it's not even sensible; it's just not based on facts," said Pardy. "There are 44 cable operators in Jamaica; there are 750,000 homes; 600,000 homes are watching television from cable operators today and we serve 10 per cent of that. If we get 20 to 25 per cent of the market, we will be a huge success." .... full article |
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