The International Soca Monarch final will not be shown live on television in 2016. This news, which is sure to disappoint fans of the Carnival Friday staple, was one of several changes announced by Peter Scoon, chairman of Caribbean Prestige Foundation (CPF), which has hosted the show for more than 20 years.
Speaking at the ISM Artiste Forum at the Hyatt Regency on Tuesday evening, Scoon said in trying to sell the production to pay-per-view and cable operators globally, CPF was told that the seven hour-long final show was not television-ready as there were too many gaps between performances.
As such, there will be no live television broadcast, no live pay-per-view and no online streaming of the final. Scoon explained the show would be properly edited for delayed broadcast the next day, Carnival Saturday, on CNC3 Television. CPF hopes that, much like international singing competition, The Voice, the results will be announced at the end of the Saturday broadcast show.
Scoon also announced the scrapping of the Groovy and Power soca categories with competition in a single category. This would see a return to the original format which was changed in 2005 with the introduction of the Groovy soca category.
The revelation was met with different responses from the performers present at the forum. Some asked if there would be more contestants in the final show while others said the change would auger well because there would be fewer “over- produced” performances.
In laying out the rationale for the change in show format, Scoon said the idea of “groovy being the child of Power” had now been superseded by the reality that the “child has now grown up. Now it is just pure soca.” Scoon said in its negotiation with the Government, CPF was mooting an improved prize structure.
He hoped that at least the two top performers could become millionaires after the final. Scoon also assured the artists gathered that even the performer who finished in the last place would be “very happy” with his or her prize. It was revealed that negotiations with corporate sponsors were still ongoing, including former major sponsor, NLCB. NLCB is currently without a board and that has put those negotiations on hold.