UH football considers pay-per-view

By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

University of Hawai'i football fans on O'ahu might be able to watch live telecasts of home Warrior games next season — for a fee.

On O'ahu, KFVE telecasts of home UH games previously were delayed four hours, beginning at 10 p.m. The telecasts were shown live in most areas on the Neighbor Islands. ESPN-produced games involving UH also were shown live across the Islands.

But UH officials, intent on increasing attendance and revenue, are proposing to offer telecasts of home football games on a pay-per-view basis. The proposal calls for eliminating the same-night delayed telecasts, and instead showing a replay the following day.

Officials for KFVE, which owns the local television rights to UH sports, and Oceanic Cable have met several times to discuss the proposal.

There also is talk of extending the pay-per-view offer to other events, such as select Rainbow Wahine volleyball matches and men's basketball games.

If approved, Neighbor Island residents, who receive a feed of the telecasts through fiber-optic transmission, would not be assessed a pay-per-view fee. There also would not be a fee for any UH football games played on the Mainland.

The five-year contract between KFVE and UH expires this summer. KFVE is entitled to an exclusive one-month negotiating period with UH. KFVE and UH officials have had informal discussions, although the negotiating clock has yet to start.

While Oceanic is willing to assist in the pay-per-view deal, it is not considered a contender for the exclusive television rights to UH sports.