Verticast Media Group says it has filed an anti-competitive lawsuit against Digicel (Jamaica) Limited, Columbus Communications Jamaica Limited and Cable and Wireless Jamaica Limited (subsidiaries of Liberty Latin America) in the Supreme Court of Jamaica for allegedly restricting access to Verticast on their pay television cable networks.

In a news release, Verticast, which operates the CSport platforms, said its action reflects its “unwavering commitment to ensuring that consumers are not harmed by anti-competitive behaviour where new entrants are hindered and consumer choices are restricted, as has been the case regarding VertiCast’s channels and content offering.”

In its Supreme Court filings, Verticast alleges that the defendants employed anti-competitive practices to exclude VertiCast channels CSport and CSport2 from their pay television cable networks.

Verticast said it signed broadcast deals with more than 20 cable operators regionally at market rates upon launch of its CSport platforms with the (English) Premier League, FIFA World Cup and other premium content. However, it said despite its offering of market terms, there has been no commercial terms in response from the defendants.

This refusal, Verticast contends, obstructs consumer access to content and distribution, undermining fair competition.

“VertiCast invested in content and distribution to create channels with content that is in high demand by consumers such as the English Premier League. We have gone above and beyond to work with the defendants to provide their consumers with access. These attempts at negotiations have not been successful and thus we had no option but to stand up for both consumers rights and the rights of media companies in the industry,” the company said in a statement.

Earlier this year, the Broadcasting Commission of Jamaica (BCJ) launched an investigation following public complaints from CSport subscribers over not being able to view Premier League matches on the platform due to service disruptions.