So the controversy about airing “Monday Night Football” live on Kaua’i wasn’t over. Rather than punish bars and restaurants which voluntarily agreed not to air the weekly National Football League games on Mondays live (at 3 p.m. Hawai’i Standard Time),
So the controversy about airing “Monday Night Football” live on Kaua’i wasn’t
over.
Rather than punish bars and restaurants which voluntarily agreed not
to air the weekly National Football League games on Mondays live (at 3 p.m.
Hawai’i Standard Time), and knowing that certain establishments on Kaua’i and
elsewhere were still showing the games live instead of delayed at 6:30, KITV
channel 4 in Honolulu reversed its field and decided it would not go after
establishments choosing to air the game live via satellite.
That’s
according to Mike Rosenberg, president and general manager of KITV, which holds
the Hawai’i copyright of the telecasts.
Pubs airing the games live still
risk fines of up to $100,000 for violations of copyright law. But Roseberg said
KITV won’t actively pursue prosecution, something it had threatened to do
earlier this season.
Rosenberg decided that if 100 percent enforcement of
the live-broadcasts ban wasn’t possible, partial enforcement didn’t make sense,
either.
Nearly two weeks ago, the station announced it would not actively
pursue “infringers,” or those joints choosing to run the game live via
satellite rather than offer the KITV delayed feed, Rosenberg said.
The
station also said it would not provide the NFL with names of establishments
known to be showing the game live.
So, Kaua’i pubs with satellite dishes
again have the green light to show the games live.
But, according to Rob
Silverman of Rob’s Good Times Grill in Lihu’e’s Rice Shopping Center, some
Kaua’i bars and restaurants ignored the enforcement threat and aired the games
live, beginning the first preseason tilt in August.
Most establishments
statewide, though, were airing the games delayed after the station put out the
word that it may go after those bars and restaurants showing the games live,
Rosenberg said.
Live broadcasts on Monday afternoons are popular with
visitors and residents. Bars and restaurants put together free pupu packages
and drink specials during games.
The early ending time – around 6 p.m. – of
live broadcasts is perfect for restaurants, as the football fans make way for
the evening dinner crowds after contributing substantial revenues to
establishments during what in the football off-season is normally a slow
time.
Silverman said he had a good crowd Monday afternoon, when the Kansas
City Chiefs came from behind to down the Seattle Seahawks 24-17.
Staff
writer Paul C. Curtis can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) and [
HREF=”mailto:pcurtis@pulitzer.net”>pcurtis@pulitzer.net]
