By Paula Lindo From T&T Guardian

The Caribbean equivalent to Netflix is here! Newly launched Over-the-Top (OTT) Platform, MAS2TV, delivers unique Caribbean content to consumers on demand, with the tagline “Love Your Culture.” MAS2TV stands for Multiculturalism, Art, Society, and Sports Television, and was developed in order to highlight Caribbean filmmakers and the creative industry.

An OTT platform uses the Internet to deliver video and audio—like TV shows and film—without a cable or direct-broadcast satellite provider. MAS2TV VP Marketing and Strategy, Ian M S Royer said it is an opportunity for Caribbean creatives to showcase their work and be paid for it. Anyone from the Caribbean and the diaspora is welcome to submit content for consideration.

“We offer a pay-per-click system for feature-length and long-format films, so filmmakers get a report with how many clicks, and there’s an agreement that we put in place before we take the programme that says how much they would get,” Royer said in a recent interview.

“We take all kinds of films, our only qualifier being quality, because if we’re charging customers to pay by the month, it has to be of a certain quality. It is financially feasible for the filmmakers to allow us access to their content, because we want to do 15,000 subscriptions by the end of the year, and they get paid for every person who watches their show, so it adds up.

“We also want to access, digitise and run older films as there’s a niche for it. If we get film of local plays, we would welcome and run that, once they have the rights to the play so we don’t get sued. We offer shorts and music videos free of charge to the customer, so there’s no money to be made from that but there is a home for it.”

Another important issue is that of representation of non-mainstream communities and people. “Minority groups will also be represented. We want everybody to see everything the Caribbean is. The MAS in MAS2TV was a play on ‘mas’, which is Carnival, which was an inspiration; but (…) we’re definitely going along the lines of wanting to give everyone an equal home. This might inspire minority filmmakers to create more content because they now have a platform to show their work.”

Royer said the project is attracting regional attention as countries such as Brazil and Puerto Rico have expressed interest in having their content shown on the platform. “What we’re discovering is that a lot of other smaller regions want access because they don’t have a place to showcase their content either, so it seems to be a niche opportunity for this part of the world to have their own catalogue of films that they can watch when they want to watch it.”

Advertising for the platform is taking place through social media and media tours, as the project only went live on October 1. Royer said he hopes this will be a game changer with respect to Caribbean monopolies by the cable companies.

“We met with a few government officials across the Caribbean and they’ve all said the same thing: that there’s a need to develop these industries. For now we’re not competing, but what we would like to do, especially since a lot of the premium channels have been banned, is to go after rights within the Caribbean of popular shows and geo-block it for the Caribbean consumer.”

Geo-blocking would restrict access to Caribbean users based on geographic location. “But right now we’re about pushing content and allowing consumers that access. It’s about Caribbean people being able to see ourselves on TV.”

Local companies and conglomerates will be encouraged to advertise on the platform, especially on the free content on offer.

Royer also said consumers won’t have to worry about the usual streaming issues present in the Caribbean, as the platform was built by Endavo and is very robust. He said this is especially important “because the platform can ingest live radio and live content, so if someone was having a fashion show, they could stream it and we would say people have to pay a certain amount of money to sign on and watch. Our servers and technology are based in the US and are very strong with a lot of redundancy, so they won’t crash if lots of people are using it. So we’re limited only by the input we get.”

Royer said a main driving force behind the platform was chief creative officer and executive vice president Dianne Bissoon, who has close to 15 years of TV Industry experience to bring to the table. The platform is available online at www.mas2tv.com and on Apple or Android devices and Roku Boxes.

IMAGE: From left, Guldal Caba, psychologist/on-air talent for Peace2TV; Dianne Bissoon, executive vice president, MAS2TV; Marquita Smith, author, and Anand DaHarry, lawyer, at the launch of MAS2TV, Sweet Chick Restaurant, New York, on October 1. Photo courtesy MAS2TV

For more on this story go to: http://www.guardian.co.tt/lifestyle/2015-11-01/caribbean-internet-tv-platform-launched