FREEPORT, GRAND BAHAMA ? Grand Bahama can finally boast of its own dedicated TV station with the launch of Grand Bahama TV, or GBTV, this week.

The new TV channel, currently available online via its web site www.GrandBahamaTV.com, is the island?s first 24x7 video service that is 100 per cent focused on Grand Bahama.

The channel already has more than 10 hours of original programming showing, including documentaries, news features, local interest shows, theatre shows from Regency Theatre, among others. The channel was launched this week with a wide variety of original shows not available anywhere else.

GBTV delivers video online in three main ways:

1. 24x7 video streaming ? Just like tuning in to any 'normal' station, GBTV runs programmes all the time. Viewers can tune in through any web browser to see what?s playing at that time.
2. ON DEMAND programmes ? Viewers can browse a list of shows available to play instantly and at any time, with the ability to pause, rewind and fast forward.
3. LIVE shows ? GBTV will feature live shows from all over Grand Bahama. Concerts, conferences, church services, sports programmes and breaking news ? all of these and more can be streamed live from any location with broadband Internet access.

The new online TV channel is the creation of Erik Russell, president of Keen I Media Ltd, Grand Bahama?s only licensed full-service media production and marketing agency.

?Grand Bahama has so many stories to tell and one of the best ways to do that is through the power of television,? Russell said. ?Our island is filled with creative, determined and entrepreneurial people that are doing fascinating and innovative things. GBTV is all about bringing those stories to as many people as possible.?

Mr Russell noted that Nassau currently has two private TV stations plus ZNS, and Abaco ? an island with about a quarter of the population of Grand Bahama ? has its own TV station. Turks & Caicos also has a TV station, even though the population of that small island nation is about half of that of Grand Bahama.

?It?s crazy that these much smaller places have their own TV outlet but Grand Bahama does not,? Russell said. While ZNS does have an operation in Grand Bahama, it?s primary output is a 30-minute daily news programme. For the rest of the day that channel is focused on national affairs and Nassau-centric programmes.

Russell said that putting GBTV online was a choice based on economics and impact. ?Making GBTV available online was not just less expensive than starting on cable or broadcast, but we also realised that many people in the Bahamas spend more time sitting in front of their computer screens than they do in front of their TV screens,? he stated.

?This approach means that we can reach more people more often right from the start, and it?s working, even though we have only been in operation for just a few days,? Mr Russell said.

In the few days since its ?soft? launch this week, the channel has been viewed by hundreds of people in more than 20 countries, including Japan, Australia and Great Britain. Bahamians and people with interests in the Bahamas ? and Grand Bahama in particular ? now have an easy way to stay up to date with the events, news and cultural events on the island through the Internet-based TV channel.

GBTV is showing programmes as diverse as the ?You Got Talent?? show that features dozens of talented Grand Bahamians competing for a cash prize, to two episodes of the new GBTV-exclusive show ?Island View? that gives an inside view of the Humane Society of Grand Bahama and the little-known recycling operation Presto Recycling, to the exciting Northern Bahamas Bodybuilding Championships.

?There are many talented technical people, actors, writers, directors, producers and dancers in Grand Bahama ? I have worked with them for years,? the marketing executive stated. ?But they have never had the opportunity to get their work in front of a bigger audience. GBTV gives them that opportunity.?

Russell stated that the new online video channel is only just beginning and has many new features and shows yet to be added. ?We have barely begun to implement all that is possible. We are seeking more funding as we expand the content on the channel. And, of course, we have many low-cost advertising opportunities, including sponsoring our ?on demand? shows and placing advertisements on our web site that appear right alongside the TV channel window.?

Plans are underway to develop new live shows and other original TV shows that will feature the talent and ideas of many other Grand Bahamians.

Viewers can see the channel at the web site www.GrandBahamaTV.