ABS-CBN execs face estafa charges from Solar Entertainment

SOLAR ENTERTAINMENT Corp. has filed estafa charges against officials of ABS-CBN Corp. in relation to a civil case over the latter’s airing of sports channels without paying carriage fees.

In a disclosure, the Lopez-led media conglomerate said Solar filed the criminal case on July 11 at the Mandaluyong Regional Trial Court (RTC) against 42 ABS-CBN officials led by Eugenio Lopez III, the broadcaster’s chairman, for alleged non-payment of carriage fees and share of revenues.

The complaint refers to the civil case for damages filed by Solar against ABS-CBN in connection with their joint license agreement for the NBA games.

“ABS-CBN believes that the criminal complaint, like the civil complaint, has no legal and factual basis, and is being used as a tool for harassment,” the media giant said.

ABS-CBN said it will take appropriate legal action to “hold Solar responsible for this unfounded action.”

Last May, the Mandaluyong RTC issued an order to garnish the bank accounts and other assets of ABS-CBN and its cable affiliate SkyCable, for airing Solar’s NBA channels without paying carriage fees for the last three years.

Under the order, Solar is also required to post a bond for P659 million, the amount it is trying to collect.

ABS-CBN and SkyCable filed a motion to lift the attachment and garnishment order on May 29, which the Mandaluyong court granted on the same day.

Solar – the local distributor of NBA games and programs for the past 16 years – has alleged that SkyCable “continued to air and make money on the NBA shows” using the former’s own channels, BTV and NBA Premium, even though its carriage contract ended in 2014.

Solar further noted that SkyCable on March 1, 2015 also “stopped paying the carriage fees” of Destiny and Unicable that had their own contracts with Solar before they were acquired by SkyCable.

ABS-CBN had denied Solar’s allegations, saying the two companies entered into a license agreement with NBA Properties in 2014, which already covered the carriage fees of SkyCable. — Krista Angela M. Montealegre