Jeffrey Barabe, President of Roll em Productions, which runs OTV said that on Nov. 18, the PNCC board of directors held an emergency meeting. Roll ‘em was not invited to attend and that in that meeting the board decided not to honor the memorandum of understanding.
According to MOU entered into by Roll’em Productions, OTV wants PNCC to agree to pay a content fee to Roll’ em at 0.26 cents per subscriber.
PNCC did not agree and invalidated the MOU.
Barabe said that the board also decided not to support local programming by paying for content despite the fact that the company pay thousands of dollars a month for international programs.
The next board meeting is set for Dec. 10.
Earlier, Sen. Joel Toribiong asked PNCC to explain why it shut off the OTV channel without providing prior notice to the subscriber.
In a letter to Misech, Toribiong who is the chairman of the Senate Committee on Judiciary and Govermental Affairs said that PNCC and OTV are able to come to a mutual agreement on their current service contract.
PNCC pulled off the air OTV on Nov. 13 due to a contractual dispute.
The senator said that of ever PNCC takes OTV off the air or makes substantial changes to its programming line up and that it should provide sufficient notice to subscribers.
“If it does not, it will be appropriate for the OEK to exercise stronger oversight of this public corporation,” Toribiong said.
According to the Memorandum of Understanding entered into by Roll’em Productions which operates OTV and PNCC, OTV wants PNCC to agree to pay a content fee to Roll’ em at 0.26 cents per subscriber.
“I write to express my deep concern regarding PNCC shutting off the OTV channel without providing prior notice to the PNCC subscribers.”
Jeffrey Barabe, President of Roll em Productions, three days after PNCC disconnected OTV is seeking a meeting with the board of directors of PNCC regarding the matter.
Barabe in his letter to Leilani Reklai, chairperson of the PNCC Board of Directors said that the disconnection of OTV was the sole decision made by Misech.
Toribiong said that “Palauans have come to depend on OTV to provide valuable and consistenr coverage of issues of both local and international importance.”
He said that Palauans access to telephone service and electric utilities.
“No customer would have their telephone or electricity service cut off without receiving prior notice, the same should be true for customers’ access to OTV,” Toribiong said.
