Government approves extra $2.6M to expand Radio Cayman

Government has approved an additional $2.6 million to upgrade Radio Cayman’s building and equipment, expand its staff, and offer new video and digital content.

Cabinet Secretary Samuel Rose told the government’s Finance Committee on Friday that some of the money would be used for a variety of approaches to modernise the station, such as the creation of podcasts, online videos and on-demand programmes.

Speaking before the committee in the Parliament building on Friday, 11 Oct., Rose told lawmakers that while Radio Cayman “always operates within its budget”, there was now a “significant need for some additional resources – capital being one of the main concerns”.

The committee was considering requests for additional funding from various ministries during its Friday sitting.

The Cabinet Office, which oversees Radio Cayman, requested an extra $297,000 – on top of the $2.2 million already budgeted for the station for the delivery of programming, which includes staffing costs.

It also requested an additional $2 million for “studio refurbishment, modernisation and design”. This amount is in addition to $6.06 million granted to the Cabinet Office in December last year for the purchase of “entity assets”.

The committee approved both requests.

Radio Cayman has been broadcasting for five decades, since its first official broadcast in on 12 Dec. 1976.

Rose noted that the aging building in George Town in which the government radio station is located is in need of “some TLC”.

He said, each year, the capital request for the radio station is about $50,000 to $70,000, which is spent on the basic upkeep of equipment annually.

He pointed out that, as a result of several lightning strikes, there had been a need to replace transmitters and other equipment, but a “more robust set of capital needs” for items such as software and IT updates and building upgrades was now necessary.

The money approved by the committee would also be spent on increasing staff numbers at Radio Cayman, which currently employs 21 people.

Rose said there are plans to hire 10 new members of staff, including on-air announcers, an engineering assistant, a news reporter with video skills, a social media news producer, and sales account executive.

He added that the extra funds would also enable the station to expand its programming and modernise its offerings, by adding more video equipment and refurbishing its studio.

Asked if there were any plans for Radio Cayman to expand into the field of television, Rose responded that while there was a need for a TV station in Cayman, it would involved “significant investment”.

In response to questions from committee members, he said there was an appetite to expand the station’s talk show offerings, currently available in mornings and afternoons. He added that there was also a desire to extend one of the popular morning shows – presumably ‘For the Record’ with Orrett Connor – from three days to five days a week.

Rose said having additional announcers on staff would make this possible, and could also mean the station could expand into podcasting.

“There are lots of individuals who would like to listen to shows on demand and the podcast format gives you a much more uninterrupted conversation; so  people can go back and listen to it on their own time and really get to engage and listen,” he told lawmakers.

“We want to make it far more appealing to a wider audience,” he added.

The Cabinet secretary, while he did not elaborate on expanding services in the Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, said there was a “big need” for more connectivity with the Sister Islands.

Rose said was a “tremendous opportunity and room for growth in terms of digital footprint”. He added that while the station already had an app, the on-demand content it offers “definitely needs to be improved and expanded”.

Asked what social media platforms the station was currently on, Paulette Connolly, acting director of Radio Cayman, told the committee the station used Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter).