Cable Bahamas LTD Seeks Dismissal of PBS Lawsuit

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NASSAU , BAHAMAS – Cable Bahamas Limited said PBS and its co-plaintiff, WGBH Educational Foundation, do not have legal standing to pursue most of their copyright claims because they allegedly own the rights to only a fraction of the programming cited in the lawsuit.

In court filings dated July 17, the company says PBS claims more than 3,300 programs were retransmitted without permission, but copyright records show PBS or WGBH own the rights to only about 706 of those works.

Cable Bahamas is also challenging the Florida court’s jurisdiction, arguing it has no offices, employees, property, or business operations in Florida.

The company says the dispute involves a Bahamian provider, Bahamian broadcasts, and Bahamian customers, making the Supreme Court of The Bahamas the proper venue.

In an affidavit, President and CEO Franklyn Butler denied claims that Cable Bahamas captured PBS broadcasts from Florida.

He says the programming, including Sesame Street, Wild Kratts, Frontline, and Antiques Roadshow, was provided under a commercial licensing agreement with Canadian distributor Gulfcom Inc.

Butler also says neither Cable Bahamas nor its subsidiary, Caribbean Crossings, ever captured or retransmitted PBS programming from Florida, adding that the content was broadcast only within The Bahamas.

The company says it voluntarily stopped airing the disputed programming while settlement discussions were underway, but says that was not an admission of wrongdoing.

PBS filed the lawsuit earlier this year, accusing Cable Bahamas of retransmitting its programming without authorization between 2019 and 2025 and seeking significant copyright and trademark damages.

Cable Bahamas denies the allegations, calling them unsupported and inconsistent, and is asking the Florida court to dismiss the case or allow it to proceed in The Bahamas instead.

The South Florida federal court must now decide whether it has jurisdiction over the case. No ruling has been made on Cable Bahamas’ request to dismiss the lawsuit.