Just one year after being acquired by media giant RJR Communications Group, local cable television company Reggae Entertainment Television (RETV) has embarked on an aggressive drive to penetrate the International market via satellite.
Kimani Robinson, chief executive officer of RETV, disclosed to the Business Observer yesterday that “over $7 million” was invested by the company in a satellite which services the Caribbean, North America, Latin America and Western Europe. He said that RETV’s expansion initiative has already begun in the region.
“RETV’s first step in its expansion mode has been in the Caribbean, and since November last year, is now being viewed in Caribbean territories, including Trinidad & Tobago, the British Virgin Islands, Costa Rica, Dominica, Antigua, St Vincent and St Maarten. The station is now a growing brand in the Caribbean as it continues to add other Caribbean territories,” said Robinson.
RETV’s expansion comes at a time when its competitors’ ability to compete in the international market has been questioned, with MTV Network’s sale of Caribbean music and culture network Tempo, and Direct TV dropping local cable television Hype TV from its line up.
According to Egbert von Frankenberg, business development manager for RETV, the channel is positioned as the dominant name in youth entertainment throughout the Caribbean.
“RETV is the clear leader in the Eastern Caribbean and we will continue to grow our numbers,” said von Frankenberg. “Since dominating the youth market in Jamaica, RETV has now switched its focus to expanding viewership from the couple hundred thousand in Jamaica to the millions of cable viewers throughout the Caribbean.” Outside of the Caribbean, von Frankenberg said that the station was developing new partnerships.
“Some of our significant partners include Rockers Island Limited, one of the largest distributors of reggae content in Japan which produces the RETV DVD Magazine quarterly,” von Frankenberg noted.
He went on to say that through a partnership with BET Jazz, RETV’s locally produced programme ‘WICK’D Videos’ is being aired in over 20 million cable homes across the world. RETV is also targeting the internet market. According to Robinson, the company has partnered with various IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) Platform providers such as JUMP TV, which enables RETV to be streamed live throughout the internet.
“We are receiving about 15,000 visitors a month to view our programming,” Robinson disclosed. In 2007, the Advertising Agencies Association of Jamaica (AAAJ) presented RETV with the award for Best Alternative Media. Naomi Garrick, the company’s marketing & sales manager, believes RETV provides an effective platform for advertisers to reach their target audience.
“We are the most recognized youth entertainment brand in the Caribbean and advertisers choose RETV as the best source for alternative media offerings and niche marketing,” said Garrick. “We are, by far, the most cost effective and direct way to reach a target audience between the ages 12 to 30 and we have the lowest cost per thousand rates in the Caribbean with weekly packages as low as J$45,000.”
source: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com
