MELLO FM has moved to position itself as an even bigger player in the local media landscape by acquiring the building that formarly housed the Gleaner Western Bureau.

The building, which is located at 9 King Street in Montego Bay, will be rebranded ‘The Mello Media Centre’.

In a release sent to this newspaper on Monday, it was said that this new move forms part of the company’s strategic outlook, to become a full-fledged media production company offering news, sports, entertainment, and local content.

“We have been operating at our Barnett Street location since our inception in 2003,” said Al Robinson, chairman and chief executive officer of Cornwall Broadcasting Media Group, owners of Mello FM.

“At the time we were a community radio station, therefore, suitable for what we wanted. But, we have since outgrown that location and as such we purchased the building that housed the Gleaner Western Bureau,” he continued.

He further added that “the new building will help to build out Mello TV services and invest in additional digital technology to have a full-fledged news centre for all operations. It will also facilitate the company’s capitalisation on technologies such as fibre optics, 4k HD TV production and other modern equipment owing to the fact that it is a larger location”.

In recent times, Cornwall Broadcasting Company has emerged as one of the dominant media conglomerates in Jamaica. It operates three radio stations: Mello FM, Energy FM, formerly Hot 102 FM and Riddim FM— a reggae only station which covers western and central Jamaica.

The company also has Mello TV,which is soon to air news, current affairs, weather, and sports and can be viewed on Flow, Digicel Play, ReadyTV, and Cornwall Communications Cable. Viewers and listeners of Mello’s media services can also access content from the Mello App, which can be downloaded from the Google Play and Apple Store. Outside of these digital operations, the company also publishes the Mandeville Weekly and J amaica Weekly newspapers.

“The new location will also help us to further revolutionise media in Jamaica through our digital offerings and cutting-edge technology. It will also help us to present news and local content in a fearless, accurate and balanced way while still maintaining the strong Mello brand,” Robinson stated.

The new facility will also enable the company to serve its customers in Montego Bay more effectively because of its central location.

“Another benefit is that it will allow our customers and other partners to visit our location to conduct business in greater comfort as there will be more space to facilitate parking. We expect to start operating from the new location within 3 month and the new office will enable us to improve our all-round customer service delivery. We are now in the heart of downtown Montego Bay, which will facilitate us serving the city, and by extension, the country even better,” he said.