Radio Jamaica Celebrating 70 Years

Sunday July 4, 2021 Page 41 printed newspapers, so The Gleaner was facing a downturn in its overall revenue. In a newly crowded media environment where it was competing with the Observer and WhatsApp, and a ton of Internet bloggers and writers, The Gleaner had to find a way to improve its marketing, especially with regard to advertising content. What did RJR gain? RJR, while maintaining its strong position, which had been challenged at points by new market entrants, was still below its targets in overall advertising and marketing revenues across the Group. The many new radio stations meant that although RJR was still number one, its overall share of market revenues had diminished. Niche stations, were taking some of the advertising that had previously gone exclusively to RJR. In addition, the RJR Communications Group was now marketing not just for RJR but also for its expanded group members HITZ 92FM, FAME FM, TVJ, TVJSN, RETV, JNN and MMJ. TVJ continued to build on its early success throughout the 21st century and had the lions share of both viewership and advertising, but the other entities would sometimes struggle for the projected levels of advertising support. How The Merger Changed Reality For The New RJRGLEANER GROUP With the merger of the RJR and Gleaner groups voted in by shareholders of both entities with an overwhelming majority, the new entity now had the power to improve their performance overall. The Group now offered advertisers access to the high quality radio station, Radio Jamaica (then RJR); the number-one television station, TVJ; tree cable channels; 1spotmedia; an additional four radio stations – FAME 95FM, HITZ 92FM, Power 106FM, and Music 99FM; the complete range of Gleaner publications, including the Daily Gleaner , the Sunday Gleaner, The Star and all of the supporting websites and social media platforms off the brands. This allowed the new Group to be far more competitive than it had been prior to the merger. The merger also offered other advantages. Various divisions, including the Accounts Department, within both companies could now be merged to maximise efficiencies. The new Group also immediately had a stronger presence on the stock market, with much more interest from investors and a higher overall value for its shares. In fact, although history will prove one way or the other, at this point in time, the merger of RJR and The Gleaner appears to be a match made in Heaven. From left: RJRGLEANER Group CEO Gary Alllen, former Chairmen Lester Spaulding, and Oliver Clarke and RJRGLEANER Group COO Christopher Barnes. continued from page 40