Hill programmes music on Caribbean network

Mel Cooke, Gleaner Writer

The importance of music - especially Jamaican music - to the Caribbean International Network (CIN) goes beyond the chunk it has been allocated on the New York-based television channel's programming hours.

Stephen Hill, chief executive officer of CIN, which runs on channels 25 and 73 in New York, says that out of 20 hours of programming, there are over eight hours of music. Those 20 hours are spread over Friday, Saturday and Sunday on two channels - 18 hours on Channel 73 which reaches 11 million people in the five boroughs of New York and two hours on Channel 25 that is seen by 18.9 million people in the Tri-State area.

"We have more dancehall and reggae - really Jamaican music and also Trinidadian - than any other platform I think in the [United] States," Hill told The Gleaner.

However, although by themselves the music programming hours speak volumes, Hill points out a further significance.

"Music is the one thing that crosses over very easily to every nationality," Hill said. "When our music programming is on, our master control people get calls from all sorts of people, asking if we have more music and when will it be on."

He states further that "we are programming not what MTV is deciding, not necessarily Sean Paul", adding that CIN is an outlet available to smaller producers in Jamaica.

Among the music shows on CIN are FiWi Top Ten (which is part of a Sunday evening run that includes the Ity and Fancy Cat Show, news from Jamaica and Trinidad, followed by sports), 'Magnum Kings and Queens of Dancehall', Video Alley, Rockers and Soca Star. Irie Vibes is an hour of the latest videos from Jamaica, while CIN Hot Music Videos mixes the current hits from Jamaica and Trinidad with Jamaican oldies. 'Dancin' Dynamites', in which many of the competitors move to the Jamaican beat, is also on CIN.

Culture

Among the non-music programming are Religious Hard Talk, Caribbean Lifestyle, a Cover Story and Hidden Treasures.

"We are promoting Jamaican and Caribbean culture on a scale that is incredible," Hill said.

Now in its 16th year, CIN started with Hill and Ronnie Nasralla showing the 'Oliver' TV series in New York. The manager of the station they approached said the only time slot they could get was 1 a.m. on Sundays. "He thought that would discourage us," Hill said. The two reasoned that people go out on a Saturday night and when they come home they are scrolling through the television channels, so the slot was an opportunity.

They figured right.

Still, Hill was accustomed to balancing figures as well as weighing chances and carrying off big promotions and in his view, "basically, television is the biggest extension of being a promoter". So when he put on a match with Watford Football Club at the National Stadium in the 1980s, Hill says there were as many people outside as there were inside the crammed stadium. However, when the Ity and Fancy Cat Show airs on a Sunday, there are millions of people watching from the comfort of their homes.

The football promotion was an extension of Hill's involvement in St George's College's Manning Cup and Walker Cup winning team (Hill laughs as he says as a defender, he scored both on his own team and the opposition), though he points out that his real sporting forte was cricket and that he was vice-captain of the all-schools team.

He came into contact with music and promotion through his father, who had put on shows with performers such as Sam Cooke, Ella Fitzgerald and Chubby Checker throughout the Caribbean.

"I got Marvin Gaye to do a benefit for the Trench Town Sports Complex," Hill said.

"Coming up in that family, I understood about promotion," Hill said. And promotion is key to sales, he points out, saying "the economics (of CIN) is very important". He names companies such as Grace, Walkerswood and Jamaica National Building Society as being among the Jamaican companies which have taken advantage of marketing opportunities overseas.

Larger role

After St George's, he went to Canada to do a Bachelor of Commerce degree and then qualify as a chartered accountant, returning home to do football promotions that included bringing in big stars like Socrates.

Hill sees a larger role for CIN than entertainment, saying "the most important thing we have to do is counter-programme. Instead of allowing the Americans to influence our decisions and the values and ethics, we are now presenting our own lifestyle, our culture and allowing Caribbean people to understand that our history and culture is viable".

And although there is a core market of one million Caribbean people, with music's global appeal, Hill says, "Basically, I can infiltrate that larger market".