KINGSTON, Jamaica— CVM TV has been granted permission by the court to file an application for a judicial review of the decision of the Broadcasting Commission of Jamaica’s (BCJ) to censure the station over misleading advertising of the English Premier League (EPL).

A representative of the station said that the review application alleges that “the principles of natural justice were not followed” when the BCJ served a notice on April 8, 2024,  that CVM was found in breach of the Television and Sound Broadcasting Regulations.

The representative said that the stay of execution was granted on Monday pending the outcome of the application for leave to apply for the judicial review. The hearing for the application is scheduled for June 3, 2024.

Earlier this month the BCJ issued a release that it had censured CVM TV after investigating complaints from disgruntled subscribers of the EPL.

READ: VertiCast/CVM TV censured-Broadcaster cited for misleading advertising surrounding Premier League

The complaints were made in relation to subscribers not being able to watch EPL matches on the CSport app in Jamaica, and while the BCJ said it did not have jurisdiction over CSport because it is Internet-based, CVM TV, which is owned by VertiCast Media Group, which also owns CSport, facilitated misleading advertisements that matches would be broadcast when they were not.

The Commission said the misleading advertising stemmed from CVM TV airing promotional material for access to live broadcasts of Premier League matches on CSport.tv and the CSport app (owned by VertiCast, CVM’s majority shareholder). One of the promos twinned the “CVM” and “CSport” logos, implying that both entities are related and involved in the Premier League offering. One other promo involved a call to action — “Sign up now at
CSport.tv or download the CSport app to catch all the action.”

Further charges were made that sports enthusiasts who were motivated by the advertisements reasonably expected to see the Premier League games over the entire season.

As for the charges, the Commission required CVM TV to air several apologies at prescribed times. However, It was not disclosed how many apologies the station would need to make and for how long.