Jay says UH has no PPV extension in place

A proposed six-year extension of the University of Hawaii’s pay-per-view sports contract with Oceanic Time Warner Cable apparently has been shelved.

A UH Board of Regents committee was told in mid-December “that the extension for the pay-per-view contract is with the (Manoa) Chancellor’s office.”

The committee was also told “the extension is for six years” and “guarantees two years for $2.3 million. In the third year it graduates down to four (football) games for $1 million.” The extension, the committee was told, “should be in effect in 2015.”

UH’s current contract with Oceanic is scheduled to expire June 30, 2014. 

But this week UH officials said there is no agreement.

Athletic director Ben Jay, who took office Jan. 14, said, “as far as I know, as far as I’m concerned, there is no proposal that we’re acting on.”

Oceanic officials declined comment.

Jay said renegotiations with Oceanic would take place “at the appropriate time.”

The current contact gives Oceanic an exclusive window for renegotiation beginning Nov. 1, 2013, and concluding Feb. 28, 2014. If an agreement is not reached in that period, the contract reads rights may be opened up “to all interested parties.” KFVE general manager John Fink said the station is interested in pursuing the rights when they are up for negotiation.

Oceanic, which had partnered with KHNL/KFVE since 2002, took over as the exclusive rights holder for UH athletics on July 1, 2011.

UH said it received $2,454,063 from Oceanic for 2012. The contract specifies a minimum payment of $2.3 million plus a percentage of PPV net revenues at various benchmarks.

Officials of UH and Oceanic declined to say how many PPV packages were sold.

The 2012 PPV package consisted of 16 events but just half of the Warriors’ 12 football games, the smallest offering in a decade.

That was due to UH’s move to the Mountain West Conference, where the league retains most of the TV rights, unlike the Western Athletic Conference.