End of Forbearance FAQs

The phased removal of these stations in the event the rights are not obtained will be over a (one) 1 year period in the following order:

1. FOX – No longer available after 30th December 2025
2. NBC – No longer available after 30th April 2026
3. ABC – No longer available after 31st August 2026
4. CBS – No longer available after 30th December 2026

Unless a Cable TV provider has secured the rights to the station, the channel must be removed in accordance with the schedule. Cable TV providers are also at liberty of removing a channel earlier from their line-up if they so desire.

Since 2015 TATT has been engaged in extensive discussions with local and international stakeholders, including the United States Embassy, Office of the United States Trade Representative and the U.S. networks to have the broadcast rights of these stations extended to Trinidad and Tobago. Despite these efforts, the U.S. networks have confirmed that their stations are not licensed for broadcast in the Trinidad and Tobago.

TATT has been informed by the Office of the United States Trade Representative that the continued broadcast of these stations without the appropriate authorisations breaches U.S. intellectual property rights and can negatively impact on the country’s trade relationship with the United States.

Customers can contact their cable TV provider directly, as pricing adjustments depend on the terms and conditions agreed upon between the provider and the customer.

Free-to-Air stations such as ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX are licensed for broadcast within the United States and its territories, or where providers have the rights to broadcast them. The right to broadcast these U.S. stations do not extend to countries such as Trinidad and Tobago.

Yes, most definitely! The failure to remove the stations and comply with intellectual property rights could negatively impact Trinidad and Tobago’s trade and investment relationships that it enjoys with the United States and its global partners.

Besides the ramifications to Trinidad and Tobago’s trade relationships, cable TV providers can face severe sanctions if they do not comply including courts fines and/or losing their concession to operate! The concession contains the obligations that a broadcaster must adhere to, which includes ensuring that they have the right to broadcast the channels shown on its network.

Failure to remove these channels as required or failure to acquire the requisite rights to the channels that are broadcast, would constitute a breach of the concession resulting in TATT taking the appropriate action against the cable TV provider as permitted under the Telecommunications Act, Chap. 47:31.