ALTHOUGH Professional Football Jamaica Limited (PFJL) is concerned about the loss of SportsMax, primary broadcasters for the Jamaica Premier League (JPL), Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Owen Hill is confident they will secure replacements before the start of the new season next month.

SportsMax’s parent company, Digicel announced that the Caribbean sports broadcaster and streaming platform will be shutting down on August 8 — after over 20 years in operation.

Since December 2020 SportsMax has been the production and distribution rights holders of the JPL, which have broadcasted hundreds of live games regionally through their cable channel and mobile app. Hill told the Jamaica Observer that he was surprised by the revelation on Tuesday.

“I was a little taken aback, not necessarily because we weren’t prepared but it actually has come to pass,” he said.

“We would have been in dialogue with SportsMax — they’ve been our main production and distribution rights holders for the last five years and I think they’ve done a fantastic job. So, from the perspective of having some very big shoes to fill, it’s a cause for concern for anybody.”

The Observer understands that Jamaica’s two free-to-air broadcasters, Television Jamaica, and CVM TV, as well as production company Phase 3, are among the companies in line to bid for the now available rights. Last November CVM became exclusive, free-to-air broadcasters of the league but relied on SportsMax’s feed to show games on match days.

While not revealing any names, Hill confirmed that negotiations are under way as they seek to find what he says is the best solution possible for the league’s coverage.

“We have been having those conversations with those free-to-air partners, as well as some private operators, and providers internationally,” he said.

“We’re definitely in that zone where we need to decide what’s the best approach, what’s the most cost-effective approach without diminishing the quality, because what’s important is that SportsMax stepped up the game with top-tier quality — the production, the broadcast, and distribution — and we want to maintain that standard. We’ve definitely had those conversations; they’re ongoing and we’ll update accordingly once a decision is made as to the direction we’re going in.”

Hill, though, says PFJL has explored the possibility of controlling the streaming aspect of the JPL, similar to other professional leagues globally.

“The access that [streaming] provides to many [people] is far beyond the traditional, linear television stations, and it’s slightly cheaper than the traditional production methodologies,” he said. “Those are important factors when we’re considering, and we definitely have those on top of mind and we want to own the production and the broadcast of the league. The commercialisation element of PFJL requires us to be looking at opportunities to earn, and we definitely want to make sure we maximise on those revenue-generating opportunities.”

As of last year the JPL season was extended to a record 39 games in the regular season, with three rounds of play-offs.

This season, the league will continue in that format but will now kick off in August, compared to its traditional September start date.

Despite having just over a month to resolve its broadcast issue, Hill has no doubt games will be televised for the opening week.

“We’re very clear — we owe it to the viewing public, to our partners, and the stakeholders at large to continue in the vein of form that we would have ended [on] last season and the previous seasons,” he said.

“We built on [a] solid foundation and we’ve literally created additional opportunities so, rest assured, for the start of the season we will have production and broadcast at the highest standard and [will be] definitely look[ing] towards the future of the industry because while we appreciate anything legacy related, we definitely want to step into new horizons. Night and day, we’re working to find a solution that is amicable to all and that will increase the favourability of the product.”

The 2025-26 season is set to begin on August 24.