Bmobile comes to TT with Tempo

Making the announcement was Rachelle Franklyn, senior vice president, corporate marketing, CW Caribbean Region, during a media conference held at the Woodbrook Playboyz panyard yesterday morning.

And coming to TT even sooner is Tempo, the new cable television channel dedicated to Caribbean music and culture on November 21, from 8 pm. It is also MTV Networks newest channel that will form part of Viacom’s roster of targeted cable networks which include MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and BET.

The channel comes about through a collaborative effort between Bmobile, which will be powered by the Telecommunication Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT) and Viacom International.

Frederick Morton, senior vice president business affairs at MTV Networks, told the media that it was history in the making in that MTV and Viacom never really paid attention to our region in terms of the richness of the Caribbean culture, music, sports and cuisine, but Tempo will be there to address that.

Born to Nevisian parents and raised in St Croix, Morton was the brain behind the channel and having got the okay from the MTV hierarchy February 14, 2005, he immediately set about getting the channel going.

He said Tempo will put our culture on the world stage adding, "Tempo is Caribbean and we are rhythmic people." He said while the University of the West Indies (UWI), West Indies cricket and Caricom were all attempts at bringing the region together, "Tempo is about uniting the region through culture," Morton quipped.

A presentation was then made with several top Caribbean artistes, including Machel Montano, endorsing the channel. He later told the gathering, "This is our time to shine worldwide," and then praised TSTT before quipping, "I am happy that my music will now Bmobile."

Ian Joseph, TSTT vice president — marketing and mobile services, said the Bmobile ignited the imagination of users throughout the Caribbean. "Over the past 12 months, TSTT has set about the transformation of our service to be in line with the reputation of the bmobile brand. This is an exclusive product that provides access to content representing some of the hottest Caribbean artistes," he added.

Tempo pre-loaded v186 Bmobile phones will come with exclusive content that includes free wallpapers of Caribbean artistes, free MP3 ringtones of regional music, games, celebrity gossip, music news and more.