By Al Edwards, Financial EditorA PROPOSAL to lease airtime at KOOL FM 97 has attracted interest from Canadian mutual fund company boss Michael Lee Chin and broadcaster Cliff Hughes. It is not clear whether this will be put out to tender to other interested parties.
Formed in November 2001, Kool FM is owned by Aeronautical Telecommunications Limited (Aerotel) which in turn is operated by the Civil Aviation Authority.
The idea for the station came about because of the core business of Aerotel, which is providing communication services between air traffic control and all airlines travelling to and from Jamaica.
In 1999, Aerotel received a license to broadcast flight information and road conditions continuously throughout Jamaica. Two years later, that license was modified to include commercial broadcasting with the promise by the station that it would continue to broadcast flight information and to promote Jamaica as a tourist destination.
It is no secret that National Commercial Bank's chairman Michael Lee Chin is anxious to invest in the Jamaican media. National Commercial Bank already holds a 10 per cent stake in the RJR Group which recently invested $250 million in new equipment and facilities and has set its sights on acquiring a bigger market share.
Institutional investors have 60 per cent of RJR's shareholding.
Over the last few years, Cliff Hughes has made an impact as a broadcaster and has leveraged his reputation to now seek a percentage of revenues garnered from his programmes.
It is not unusual in some developed markets for airtime to be leased out to independent operators. Additionally, Cliff Hughes, co-host of 'Nationwide', the news and current affairs programme on Power 106 FM, is expected to leave that station early in the new year.
"Within our first year on the air we were receiving offers to acquire us so this latest news is nothing new," Kool FM's acting station manager Patrick Lafa-yette said. "The staff have not been informed that the station is up for sale and so we will operate until we can't."
On hearing about KOOL FM's leasing arrangement, one media house instantly sent off a letter to the government stating the case for the offer to be put out to tender.
KOOL FM's acting general manager, Linvol Stephens was unavailable for comment up to press time.
