IN a party atmosphere punctuated by mainly the dancehall genre and an endless spring of its flagship brew, Red Stripe held the official launch of its Premier League TV Show at the company’s Spanish Town Road headquarters on Tuesday night.

Red Stripe, the internationally-recognised brewery, used music and television displays to good effect in bringing across its message and to unveil its “exciting” initiative for the league.

And if the night’s presentation is anything to go by, then indeed exciting days could be ahead for the Red Stripe Premier League (RSPL).

The big announcement was the novel idea of late night football on Monday to be watched live on CVM Television.

This game, which will be plucked from the Sunday schedule the day before, is expected to be a hi-tech television production.

In giving details to a backdrop of imposing football graphics displayed on giant TV screens, Red Stripe’s head of marketing Jomo Cato, disclosed that state-of-the-art equipment has been acquired to ensure the highest standard of production. “We will have nine cameras covering every angle of the play… we will also have the telestrator, which is the first in Jamaica,” he told the gathering of football’s big wigs, politicians and corporate giants.

A telestrator is the piece of hardware that will allow commentators and analysts to break down a play or situation for in-depth review for the benefit of the viewer, similarly to what is practised by the big television networks that cover the sport.

Cato noted that the new move (Monday night football) “will help tremendously” to enhance the football product and experience for the fan watching at home. He also spoke of a fun-filled half-time show that will feature entertainment and give-aways.

The RSPL already sanctions games on Sundays and Wednesdays.

A crack team of commentators, led by veteran sportscaster Lance Whittaker, will describe the action and offer expert analyses.

Other members of the four-member Monday night team are Wayne Walker, Kiki and Gijon Geddes.

The first of the weekly shows — the RSPL End-of-Round Final — will be staged next Monday at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex, the home of Arnett Gardens.

Games, set for kick-off at 9:00 pm each Monday, will also be held at every home ground equipped with proper lighting.

“A huge number of our consumers are football fans… and this is a fantastic platform to create the right atmosphere on game days and a key part of that is having every fan, whether at the match or at home watching on TV, with an ice-cold Red Stripe in hand,” said Cato.

At Tuesday’s function, where there was live entertainment by Mr Vegas and with Bounty Killer due to arrive later, neither Red Stripe’s CEO, the Brazilian Renato Gonzalez nor Cato was willing to say what sum is being invested in the RSPL, on a whole, and the TV venture in particular.

The Edward Seaga-led Premier League Clubs Association (PLCA) that runs the top-flight league, went ahead with the start of the 2011/2012 season without a title sponsor following the withdrawal of Digicel.

In a move to broaden the sponsorship pool, the PLCA sold small packages to various companies, but still they needed a major investor to carry the massive burden of the efficient running of the competition and catering to the diverse needs of the 12 participating clubs. After some searching, Red Stripe answered the call in a “big way”.

Red Stripe is no stranger to sponsoring football in Jamaica. The company was the main sponsor of the senior Reggae Boyz team and the Red Stripe Champions Knockout Cup between 2004-2007. Most recently the beverage company was an associate sponsor of last season’s Flow Champions Cup.

Among those attending the launch were the new minister without portfolio for sport Natalie Neita-Headley; junior minister for Tourism and Entertainment, Damion Crawford; PLCA chairman Seaga; representatives of all the clubs and; members of the JFF technical staff headed by head coach Theodore Whitmore, along with Brazilians Walter Gama and Alfredo Montesso.