Flow reports high Jamaican viewership of the US Elections

Race to the white house commanded 60 per cent of local viewership

Last Tuesday, Jamaicans at home were glued to their television screens for hours, to see who would be declared the next President of the United States. Anticipation built with the announcement of results from each state as viewers turned to one of the many international news networks available on Flow’s digital cable television service. The swelling tide of viewers that flocked to their screens proved once again that the diverse offerings of the broadband provider accurately tap into the needs of the information hungry public.

Tuesday’s election outcome can be described as a nail-biting finish as President Barack Obama successfully won a second term in the Oval Office, staving off the Republican candidate Mitt Romney.  Jamaican viewers had access to the diverse range of coverage via the news channels carried on Flow’s digital cable TV service.

 Michael Look Tong, director of media services at Columbus Communications Jamaica Limited, operators of theFlow brand in Jamaica, revealed that viewership of news networks during the election night coverage was “uniquely high”.

“The election coverage was clearly a special situation and, as expected, the numbers confirm that Jamaican’s were very interested in what would be the final outcome,” he said.

According to Look Tong, Flow’s Advertising Intelligence (AI) Reports indicate that during the critical peak hours of 9 pm to midnight, CNN dominated with its coverage of the elections, commanding up 18 per cent of viewership. Our local stations also benefited from the high interest in election coverage as TVJ and CVM secured second and third place rankings throughout the night.  NBC and MSNBC followed as other popular  choices for viewers. The average percentage of viewership of the top news stations from 9 pm to midnight was 60 per cent of total viewership across Flow’s network during that period.

Leading up to the election, foreign policy experts and leaders of the business community indicated that Jamaica’s position in regards to relations with the US would be the same regardless of outcome of the US Presidential race. The high viewership, however, confirms that many Jamaicans remain concerned with the outcome and its impact on key issues including immigration, the US foreign policy and foreign aid, and energy.

The Jamaican economy is strongly aligned with the recovery of the US economy, and will feel the impact of America’s immigration policies, especially as much of Jamaica’s foreign exchange comes from remittances from Jamaicans within the Diaspora. Tourism interests would also be impacted by America’s economic recovery. 

Look Tong admitted that the viewership pattern highlighted by the AI report does not come as a complete surprise.  “We expected a strong night for the international cable news channels,” he said.  “We carry a diverse range of news channels which provides our customers with the exposure to different points of view.”

Major international news networks carried by Flow include CNN, BBC, MSNBC, Fox News, Bloomberg and CNN International.   At the eleventh hour when all eyes were on Florida, Flow customers were able to get additional down to the minute coverage from the Florida via NBC (WTVJ), Fox (WSVN), CBS (WFOR), and ABC (WPLG) channels.

Western Schools advance to round 2 of Flow in My School Technology Competion

Three Schools in Western Jamaica will try to win the hearts of audiences across the island as the make their debut on Flow TV’s newest series – ‘Flow In My School’ during the month of November.

The three schools - Corinaldi Avenue Primary, Herbert Morrison Technical High and St. Elizabeth Technical High School are semi-finalists in the Flow In My School Technology Competition and are  in the running with 11 other schools from the Corporate Area and St. Catherine, to win the grand prize of an upgraded computer lab.

The competition is a part of Flow’s Flagship Corporate Social Responsibility initiative in which they power over 140 schools across the island with free commercial grade Internet and digital Cable in a bid to enhance the schools teaching and learning environments.

Students of Corinaldi Avenue Primary School performing their cultural piece for the Flow In My School TV series.  The school will make its debut on Sunday, November 18 at 6 pm on Flow TV, channel 100.

 “There is such a diverse range of semi-finalist schools in the competition, and we are particularly pleased that Flow is able to offer the broadband technology that drives the innovation behind many of the activities you will see in this TV show.   We are also grateful to our partners at the Ministry of Education, HP, Microsoft and the Jamaica Observer who recognized the value of this initiative and did not hesitate to come on board,” said Denise Williams, director of corporate and government affairs at Columbus Communications Jamaica Limited, operators of Flow.

“We also hope that Jamaica will tune in each week and root for their favourite school in this new and exciting series that will air each Sunday on Flow TV,” added Williams.

The grand prize for the two winning schools will include eight all-in-one HP computers, an electronic Mimio white board as well as individual prizes including a laptop and tablets.

The other schools that have advanced to the next round are Windward Road Primary and Junior High, Campion College, Allman Town Primary, Angels Primary, Braeton Primary and Junior High, St. Andrew High School, Harbour View Primary, Jesse Ripoll Primary, Rollington Town Primary, Waterford Primary and Meadowbrook High.

Flow in My School airs each Sunday at 6pm on Flow TV Channel 100 with a repeat on Wednesdays. The series showcases how schools across Jamaica are using technology to revolutionize the teaching and  learning process, as well as the creative and exciting ways they celebrated Jamaica 50.