President of the National Carnival Bands Association (NCBA) David Lopez says the contract with State-owned Caribbean New Media Group (CNMG) did not include a live stream on the Internet of the parade of the bands.
CNMG's CEO Ken Ali issued a statement on Monday saying the company had been blocked by Lopez from airing the Internet stream to millions of people around the world who depended on its Web site ctntworld.com to enjoy the "Greatest Show on Earth" Yesterday, around 6 pm, Lopez was on the stage at the Queen's Park Savannah monitoring the bands and masqueraders.
He spoke briefly in an interview with reporters. When asked about the situation with CNMG, Lopez responded: "What situation is that?" Told that CNMG had been stopped from providing a live stream on the Internet, he said, "I am not aware. "I am aware that we signed a contract with CNMG...from NCC we signed a contract and streaming was not part of the contract."
Meanwhile, speaking about the general atmosphere at the savannah, Lopez said the parade started around 7.45 am and there was a constant flow of bands. He said everything went "relatively smooth" despite some bands overstaying their time on the stage and others breaking the route. "Some of the bands overstayed their time but that would be dealt with," he said.
Lopez said large bands were allowed 30 minutes and medium bands allowed 15 minutes. He said: "Where bands overstayed their time, there are penalties and they would be outlined." Apart from that, he said there were some challenges on the "outside" with some bands that broke the route. He said instead of proceeding west on Tragarete Road, some bands were going east.
He could not say which were the bands. However, there were reports that the band Yuma had broken the route. Port-of-Spain mayor Louis Lee Sing in a news report said it was unacceptable and called for a proper and thorough investigation.
Lopez said: "I am still waiting on the report from my marshals and supervisor who are outside there but so far there has been a constant flow and things have been going smoothly at the savannah."