By Al Edwards, Business Co-ordinatorRECENTLY YOU have tuned into cable television and come across a channel broadcasting a heavy rotation of reggae and dancehall videos. Initially you may have asked yourself, is this some sort of MTV offshoot? Finally, TV executives are acknowledging the potency of reggae you might of exclaimed. No, you would be wrong for this is RETV, a Jamaican venture broadcasting from Kingston.
RETV was conceived by founding partner Kimani Robinson, formerly of Imex technologies. Mr. Robinson has a background in the local entertainment industry and was a former manager of the young dancehall star, Sean Paul. So why exit information technology and enter the world of television.
"Well, watching TV I felt there was a need for a local entertainment television entity that could represent what was happening in the music business in Jamaica and the peripheral industries that support it. We wanted to take a closer look at reggae artistes, the producers, engineers and all the people who put reggae/dancehall music on the map. We didn't feel that there was any one television entity that was capturing what was happening in the world of dancehall and reggae, so we saw a niche that we could fill. In the United States you have BET and MTV and they represent what is happening in their culture. Reggae music which is the fastest growing music genre in the world did not have a real television presence so we set about creating one. Reggae is not just about music it is a culture and a way of life.
Kimani Robinson credits the progress made by RETV to his able staff consisting of Gillian Thompson, Darcell Grant, Pili Johnston and Carrie Sigurdson
EQUITY INVESTMENT
RETV began with an equity investment of $30 million with the major shareholders comprising of Kimani Robinson (60 per cent), Peter Bovell (director, 20 per cent) and Paul Scott of Mussons (director, 20 per cent). The fledgling TV entertainment company which is in 150,000 homes islandwide, will spend approximately 60 million in capital expenditure over the next 6 to 12 months. The directors stressed that their company is funded by equity with no reliance to date on debt. The idea is not to simply rotate videos but rather to present a number of shows interspersed with videos. RETV is now completing work on a studio on Half Way Tree from which they will be broadcasting. This studio will over look Mandela Park. It will have a glass frontage and have an interactive appeal akin to MTV's TRL. A major challenge facing RETV is garnering advertising revenue. As it now stands only the major terrestrial local channels are able to generate income from advertising which is the bread and butter of any television operation. RETV has had to resort to broadcasting corporate information which more often than not showcases products and services. The company is lobbying for a change in legislation but in the meantime has decided to take their show on the road to all the different communities nation wide. You are just as likely to see the RETV bus in Tivoli as you are in St. Andrew's, Devon House. The strategy appears to be one of creating alliances with Jamaica's leading corporations in order to exploit business opportunities. RETV is in effect a mirror in which Jamaica can look at itself and that has much appeal for many businesses looking to access in particular the younger demographic component.
The present business climate pervading the country is very taxing on new ventures and can be wearisome on the zeal of young businesspeople looking to strike out on their own. Kimani Robinson , Peter Bovell and Paul Scott much to their credit have chosen to run their enterprise by themselves with no reliance on Government loans or cheaper capital from finance houses. The idea seems to be we will do this our way by ourselves and will execute decisions expeditiously without the encumbrances of bureaucracy and corporate inertia. The aim is to raise the standard and quality of its TV production and video content so that RETV can compete effectively with other TV entertainment entities that operate in the first world. One gets the feeling that RETV sees itself as an export commodity and is gearing up for overseas markets. Mr. Robinson et al are keenly aware that dancehall and reggae are two of the country's biggest exports and the lure of foreign currency is a prize well worth pursuing.
Peter Bovell, a businessman who has started many ventures sees this as the best one to date. " As far as mass appeal in concerned this has got to take the cake. I can't profess to be an expert on the entertainment business, that I leave to Kimani - but as an investment opportunity I am very excited about RETV and what we have accomplished to date. Our viewing figures for a business that is less than six months old is impressive and we are giving both TVJ and CVM a run for their money. People are tuning in and catching the RETV vibe and businesses want to talk to us which validates what we are trying to accomplish. The studio on Half Way Tree will take us in a new direction and we will give Jamaica something it has never seen before. We will be bringing much flavour to our operations. People talk about uptown, downtown Jamaica, race, colouring all the things that divide us. We want to transcend those barriers and show the world what it means to be a Jamaican and how we as a people have a good time. The days of dancehall being for the ghetto is over,- it is as vital as rock & roll, rap, R&B and any of those genres which today is simply entertainment and is sold to the world as such. Reggae is a cultural touchstone for everybody. We want to strike a cord in the hearts and minds of all Jamaicans."
In a recent survey conducted by Hope Enterprises in Kingston, St. Andrew and Portmore, RETV has 52 per cent viewership, TVJ 60 per cent and CVM 50 per cent.
