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October 01, 2005
'TEMPO' - MTV Coming to the Caribbean
'Tempo', a new cable television network dedicated to Caribbean music and culture, will be launched by MTV Networks, a division of Viacom Inc. in October of 2005. The new channel will be advertiser-supported, and will target all people with a passion for the Caribbean lifestyle.
The channel will provide a mix of original and acquired programming that is vibrant, relevant to its audience and true to the spirit of the Caribbean and its culture.
"There was no eureka moment with this idea, it's more like a eureka lifetime. I have always been into our culture, all through school in the Caribbean, then to college on the mainland, I deejayed at Caribbean parties, I promoted events, this what I do," Frederick Morton, a high-ranking exec at MTV Networks who dreamed up the idea of Tempo, he said.
He was born and raised in St. Croix, the United States Virgin Islands to Nevisian parents. He currently resides in Newark, New Jersey.
Frederick graduated from Rutgers University School of Law in 1993 and received numerous awards, including the Alumni Senior Prize. In addition to his law degree, he has a Masters in Public Administration from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Rutgers College, Rutgers University, where he served as the President of the West Indian Student Organization.
After graduation, Morton rose to become the senior vice president, deputy General Counsel, Business and Legal Affairs for MTV networks, a division of Viacom Inc. And he plans to give up all of that to become the head honcho of Tempo, an idea he pitched to MTV two-and-a-half years ago.
"It dawned on me, hey wait-a-minute, this culture is so rich, music is so significant but it is under-recognised, and Caribbean people have done so well over the years, we deserve to have our culture highlighted and embraced," he said.
There will be stellar reggae-and-dancehall line up for the two day kick off for Tempo at the James Bond Beach on October 15th and October 16th. On October 15th, there will a show featuring reggae acts such as Gyptian, Barrington Levy and Richie Spice in a tribute to the greats, then the following day, The Game will appear alongside artistes such as Vybz Kartel, Bounty Killer, Assassin, Voise Mail and other artistes to be confirmed. Donisha Prendergast will host the show.
"The theme of the launch will be Caribbean Rising, I believe it is our time now," he said.
Prior to joining MTV Networks, Frederick was vice president, Chief Litigation Counsel for Viacom Inc. where he managed commercial litigation for the media and entertainment company.
"Tempo will be built around music, and be dedicated to all things Caribbean: music, food, travel, sports, we will try to get a bit into the personal lives of our icons, there are people in the Caribbean who know more about Usher than they know about Bounty Killer, we want to change all that," he said.
Tempo will launch in November 2005 in markets across the Caribbean through its distribution deal with innovative Cable TV and additional distributors that will be announced in the coming months. The network will debut in North America in 2006. Tempo joins Viacom's roster of popular and highly-targeted cable networks which includes MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, BET and Spike TV. Industry experts say the channel could cost as much as US$100 million to develop, and market to audiences worldwide.
The Tempo channel will be backed up by an aggressive marketing campaign, and there will be VJs from several regions across the island.
"We make good TV," he said simply. "It is going to be off the chains."
Wyclef Jean is also reportedly "tapping into his creative energies" to assist the station reach its desired target audiences. The channel could be available to viewers in Kingston as "early as the end of November" Morton promised.
So by December, the new buzz phrase saturating the ears of the reggae public will be "Got Tempo?". Check it.