LIHU’E – As former announcer “Dandy” Don Meredith used to sing, “Turn out the lights, the party’s over.” This time, the party that has ended is not “Monday Night Football,” but Monday afternoon football. Succumbing to pressure from ABC’s Honolulu
LIHU’E – As former announcer “Dandy” Don Meredith used to sing, “Turn out the
lights, the party’s over.”
This time, the party that has ended is not
“Monday Night Football,” but Monday afternoon football.
Succumbing to
pressure from ABC’s Honolulu affiliate KITV (channel 4), local pubs, bars,
restaurants and lounges have discontinued the popular practice of airing
“Monday Night Football” live via satellite.
The game airs live on Kaua’i at
3 p.m. each Monday, and local establishments with satellite dishes have
packaged drink specials and other enticements to draw folks in.
Now,
though, with threats of legal action from KITV, which holds the local copyright
of the telecast, watering-hole owners have quit showing the game live at 3.
Instead, they’re offering the KITV feed at 6:30 p.m., delayed until the
game is nearly over.
Establishments which had been airing the game live
could have been in violation of federal copyright laws, and the station could
have been entitled to actual damages plus statutory damages of up to $100,000
for each telecast infringement, according to Mike Rosenberg, KITV president and
general manager.
Showing the game live in Hawai’i costs KITV thousands of
dollars a year in advertising revenue, as “Monday Night Football” airs during
sweeps, the monitoring period when advertising rates are set, he
said.
Calls made Monday to several establishments from Po’ipu to
Princeville revealed they had discontinued airing the game
live.
Representatives of Brennecke’s Beach Broiler in Po’ipu, Pizzetta in
Old Koloa Town, Rob’s Good Times Grill in Rice Shopping Center in Lihu’e, and
JJ’s Broiler and Nawiliwili Tavern in Nawiliwili all confirmed they’d show the
game at 6:30.
Earlier, a manager from Pizzetta said the game draws a crowd
whether it’s on live or delayed. But a spokesperson for Brennecke’s Beach
Broiler said the early-afternoon crowd that came for the game live via
satellite was a welcome addition in terms of business volume. The mellow crowd
would usually leave after the game, which coincided with the arrival of dinner
customers.
While Rosenberg said he wouldn’t send any warning letters to
Kaua’i establishments about the potential copyright infringements, letters did
go out to bars and restaurants warning of potential legal action if they
continued showing the game live via satellite, after a late-July story about
the issue in The Garden Island.
Staff Writer Paul C. Curtis can be
reached at [pcurtis@pulitzer.net]or
245-3681 (ext. 224).
