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Wednesday, April 29, 2026
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Cable slams US broadcaster’s ‘baseless’ signal piracy lawsuit BY NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net CABLE Bahamas last night slammed as “baseless” accusations by the top US public service broadcaster that it had undertaken “a deliberate, years-long, sustained piracy scheme” by broadcasting its programming to local TV subscribers without permission. The BISX-listed communications provider, in a statement responding to Tribune Business inquiries, described the lawsuit filed against it on Monday by Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and its fellow nonprofit, WGBH Educational Foundation, as “without merit” and pledged to contest the allegations
through the relevant legal mechanisms. PBS, which said it had assigned the exclusive distribution rights for the programming at the centre of the Cable Bahamas dispute to WGBH, is alleging that the Bahamian TV, video and fixed-line phone services provider retransmitted its content to Bahamian subscribers despite lacking the necessary licences and authorisation for a six-year period up until August 19, 2025. In its legal claim, filed with the south Florida court on Monday, April 27, 2026, PBS asserted it had identified 3,308 TV programs “that were infringed by Cable Bahamas” over the almost two-and-a-half
PBS claims BISX-listed firm broadcast thousands of programs without permission Seeking ‘treble the amount of damages’ and up to $2m for each trademark breach Cable blasts south Florida legal action as ‘without merit’ and pledges to fight suit
CABLE BAHAMAS HQ
AG tells Washington: Bahamas is ‘a beacon against forced labour’ BY NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Attorney General has branded The Bahamas “a beacon against slavery and forced labour” as he urged US trade chiefs to find that none of this nation’s laws or policies present an obstacle to banning goods made by coerced workers. Ryan Pinder KC, who was due to yesterday defend The Bahamas’ position in Washington D. C. public hearings into the ongoing ‘forced labour’ probe by the US Trade Representative’s Office, previously stressed this nation’s determination to combat such practices while asserting the Government “is unaware” of any occurring within this nation’s economy or its supply chains.
Pinder defends Bahamas against US probe Says nation’s exports have ‘low risk profile’ And US import dominance contains threat The Attorney General, in an April 15, 2026, submission responding to the Trump administration’s investigation, asserted that Bahamian exports to the US “represent a low risk profile” for forced labour as none have ever been subjected to the Withhold Release Orders that US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issue when they suspect products have
Residents voice fears on $700m Baha Mar expansion’s utilities BY FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business Reporter jsimmons@tribunemedia.net RESIDENTS living in close proximity to Baha Mar’s $700m new resort project last night pushed back against its expansion plans by raising safety concerns and warning the proposed back-up utilities could disrupt daily life in surrounding communities. Nearby homeowners, speaking at a public consultation on the project, said they are not opposed to the redevelopment of
the former Melia property, which is billed as creating 400 construction jobs and more than 500 fulltime posts, but argued that locating the back-up utility facility near residential properties poses significant risks. Attorney Nicholas Mosko, Westward Villas Homeowners Association’s secretary, described the situation as “very dangerous”, pointing to both flooding issues and the nature of the proposed infrastructure. “I’ve had to drive in the back there to my neighbours being flooded out by
Developers face shortage of persons ‘who want to work’ BY ANNELIA NIXON Tribune Business Reporter anixon@tribunemedia.net SHORTAGES of skilled workers and affordable housing are impacting economic growth and development throughout The Bahamas, tourism executives revealed yesterday, with one asserting it remains challenging to
find persons “who want to work”. Heather Carey, a longtime tourism executive now with Eleuthera’s Ritz-Carlton Reserve project, and Lee Prosenjak, managing director of Valentine’s Resort and Marina in Harbour Island, said the number and scale of resort and real estate developments currently underway is widening the labour gap.
RYAN PINDER KC been produced through such practices. And, calling on The Bahamas’ largest trading partner to provide tangible evidence that supports forced labour concerns with regard to this nation, Mr Pinder said that since $5.59bn worth of goods some 63 percent, or almost two-thirds, of this nation’s 2024 imports - originated from the US “only a very small portion could, in theory, pose a forced labour risk”.
Having asserted that The Bahamas represents a minimal forced labour risk, Mr Pinder added that both the Bahamian constitution and statute law, via the Employment Act, prohibit such practices domestically. This nation has also signed the relevant international treaties to counter such practices, and the Attorney General said: “Current Bahamian measures effectively prevent forced labour and the entry of articles produced with forced labour.” Mr Pinder’s written submissions respond to the US Trade Representative’s Office investigation, launched on March 12 this year, into The Bahamas and 59 other major US trading partners to determine if they have implemented - and are enforcing - measures to
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Baha Mar’s water, and it’s already been mentioned in Parliament. When it rains, it floods in the back there, and now you are putting a building that could explode 20 feet from neighbours,” said Mr Mosko. “When you look at putting a gas tank in a neighbourhood, it has to be done in certain ways and extremely far away from homes. I would like the DEPP to explain to the Bahamian people the lack of resources that you have, and the expertise that you do have, to deal with things like this.” Mr Mosko added that environmental concerns cannot be viewed in isolation, warning that failures in one area could have broader consequences. “To say that this is an environmental matter and it has
nothing to do with anything else; everything is interconnected. Failure of one or another is dangerous to human life,” he said. However, Dr Rhianna Neely-Murphy, the Department of Environmental Planning and Protection’s(DEPP) director, pushed back on concerns about resource constraints, saying the agency has mechanisms in place to ensure adequate oversight. “The Department has the resources it needs to monitor and manage sites of this nature,” she said. “Where there is a shortage, the Government of The Bahamas requires that developers cover any shortfall that the Government would otherwise have to absorb. We have
Ms Carey said the issue is not just a shortage of workers but recruiting skilled, qualified and committed employees across multiple sectors. “Having lived in Eleuthera for four years, and speaking to all the stakeholders and upcoming developments, etc, is that realistically, there is a labour challenge, not just in Eleuthera but all of the islands,” she said. “And it isn't just putting bodies in jobs. It's skilled labour, people who want to work. But it's not just
an Eleuthera problem. It's The Bahamas’ problem. “If you speak to all of the hotels, restaurants, insurance companies… we keep focusing on the tourism product. And it is not just the tourist product. Every product in the Out Islands has a hard time of finding talented, qualified, hard-working employees. So then, if you add that into all the developments that have been announced for Exuma,
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years from April 27, 2023. Despite being a public service broadcaster, it added that it never allows programs - which include the likes of Sesame Street and Wild Kratts from PBS Kids, plus adult content such as Frontline and Antiques Roadshows - to be broadcast outside the US and its territories without a licence. Besides requesting that the US court impose a “permanent injunction” barring Cable Bahamas from broadcasting its content to Bahamian subscribers, PBS is also demanding a variety of damages including up to $150,000 for “each copyright” violated by the BISX-listed provider. It is also demanding “treble the amount of damages” it has suffered “and any
profits Cable Bahamas” has earned from its alleged conduct, plus up to $2m “for each counterfeit trademark or service”. Cable Bahamas, though, vehemently rejected and dismissed PBS’ accusations while signalling that it could challenge the lawsuit on jurisdiction grounds - meaning it has been filed in south Florida rather than here in The Bahamas. “Cable Bahamas is aware of the baseless action filed against the company in a foreign jurisdiction and maintains that the claims are without merit,” the BISX-listed provider said. “The matter is currently under legal review, and as it is an active proceeding, the
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PM meets unions over Morton Salt termnations BY NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net UNION executives met with the Prime Minister yesterday over Morton Salt’s plans to terminate 75 percent of its Inagua workforce and, potentially, shut operations down entirely if the move proves unsuccessful, with one labour leader arguing the workers are being used to obtain concessions from the Government. Obie Ferguson KC, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) president, told Tribune Business he “completely agrees” that the Chicago-headquartered salt producer is using the threat of mass terminations, and even a possible shut down of Inagua’s largest employer, as leverage to obtain a more favourable tax settlement with the Government over the company’s pending sale and force the Lusca Group deal through to closure. The TUC chief disclosed that leadership of the Bahamas Industrial, Manufacturing and Allied Workers Union (BIMAWU) had been due to meet Philip Davis KC at 8am yesterday morning to discuss the situation and push for a resolution that protects Bahamian jobs, the workers’ families and the future of the Inagua community and its economy
which depends heavily on Morton Salt. Calls to Richard Ingraham, the BIMAWU president, were not responded to or returned before press time last night. And, when contacted for a further update yesterday afternoon, Mr Ferguson said he was still waiting to obtain a report on the outcome of the meeting with the Prime Minister, what was discussed and the way forward to a potential resolution. Prior to departing for Nassau, Mr Ingraham told this newspaper that while Morton Salt workers are now in the 45-day period before the company moves to terminate 75 percent of its workforce on or around Friday, June 5, “everybody’s trembling right now. Everybody’s watching what’s happening. We’re right here, praying, believing in God. Something’s going to happen”. Tribune Business previously reported that Morton Salt’s move to drastically downsize the workforce and cut costs is directly linked to the Chicago-headquartered company’s planned deal to sell the Inagua operation to Lusca Group and its subsidiary, Grand Bahama Salt Company - entities linked to the Liwathon Group, which has acquired
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