Gayelle TV faces lawsuit over carnival coverage

Trinidad and Tobago's state-owned television station Caribbean New Media Group (CNMG) is threatening legal action against the local television channel, Gayelle claiming the cable channel illegally broadcast the parade of the bands on Carnival Monday and Tuesday.

The government station claims that it has exclusive broadcast rights for carnival events.

Errol Fabien, executive director and co-founder of Gayelle has confirmed that CNMG seent a letter ordering Gayelle to stop its coverage of Carnival, claiming a violating of rights.

Fabien said he does not have the resources to fight the government television service, but expressed “shock and anger” over the issue.

He explained that Gayelle's mission is to promote local culture and that's what it was doing with the broadcast of the Parade of the Bands.

He described Gayelle as a national service premised on patriotism, adding that CNMG revels in foreign content, but wants "turn off Gayelle cameras" for Carnival.

"They want us to carry something else than what we carry every day. Every day we carry T&T’s culture,” he said.

Gayelle fans are standing behind Fabien and Gayelle.
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