Mello FM goes islandwide
MONTEGO BAY, St James
The Montego Bay-based Mello FM radio station which has, since 2004 been transmitting in western parishes will have an islandwide reach next month, setting the stage for a more competitive radio market.
Mello FM, which operates from 63 Barnett Street, Montego Bay, now restricts coverage to St. James, Trelawny, Hanover, Westmoreland and sections of St. Ann and St. Elizabeth.
It will extend its coverage island-wide on frequencies 88.1 megahertz (MHz) from Catherine’s Peak in St. Andrew covering the parishes of Kingston, St. Andrew, St. Catherine, and sections of St. Thomas and St. Mary.
The radio station will also be transmitting on 88.3 from Huntley, Mancheste,r covering Manchester, Clarendon, Trelawny and St. Elizabeth.
Currently Mello FM covers western Jamaica on frequencies 96.1 and 88.1 MHz from Kempshot Peak, St. James and Birchs Hill, Hanover respectively. But, with the clustering of Mello FM’ frequencies on the 88 MHz band, listeners in St. James, Trelawny and sections of St. Ann who listened on 96.1 will now have to tune to their favourite programmes on 88.5, starting September 25 at 2:00 p.m.
According to a release, Mello FM is the radio station of choice for listeners in western Jamaica who crave its adult, contemporary and rhythm and blues music format.
Mello FM’s general manager, Al Robinson expressed confidence that the station will maintain its western focus, primarily serving the needs of its western audience, while broadcasting developments in the region to a national audience.
At the same time, Robinson claims that the expansion of Mello FM’ coverage is geared towards making the station more competitive by increasing the station’s market share.
“We want to ensure the viability of Mello FM in what is no doubt a most competitive marketplace, with some 20 established commercial stations and more on the way,” Robinson noted. ” We are committed to offering high quality programming both in terms of sound quality and content. However, this commitment was being affected by the small segment of the market we cover, as the returns could not sustain the station’s digital outlay that is compatible with High Definition (HD) Radio, which is the technology of the future for FM broadcasting,” he said.
In the meantime, according to Robinson, independent surveys commissioned by Mello FM reveal that when Barry ‘G’ is on air, he has more listeners in the region than many of the other radio stations.
