In an exclusive interview with the Source, television industry icon and filmmaker Tim Reid discussed the launch of the LGCY Television Network.
The significant developments follow nearly a year of partnership between Reid and the University of the Virgin Islands Research and Technology Park.
Reid said that he has visited the Caribbean for over 30 to 40 years and had visited St. Thomas and St. John but never St. Croix specifically. He came to take part in a high-tech conference at the RT Park and two days before the conference, was notified that he’d be the keynote speaker.
At that time, Reid had the opportunity to view a place where fiber optics joined together with other parts of the world and he was really impressed. Reid had plans to launch and build his own platform for streaming videos. So, he then asked the network’s CEO Peter Chapman, “Can I bring my server and my content here and see what we can do?” Chapman agreed.
Reid and others were then introduced to Liberty Latin America and it was suggested to put up the first phase of the expansion. The first phase will be entirely in the Caribbean. Phase two will go to Africa and maybe London.
Because of license agreements, the U.S. Virgin Islands is not able to stream on this platform just yet, but Reid anticipates doing so soon.
“My idea is to put together a channel that will interchange culture, history and those things that we know about each other because it has been kept away from us by virtue of who controls the message,” Reid said.
“Something has to be done. We can’t wait till we are allowed to tell our stories. We can’t wait till we begin to share our culture and our history so that we can have a better understanding of what we are capable of.”
Reid said that LGCY TV Network launched with 65 titles, movies, and sports, and all are available now. Reid said that he wants St. Croix to be their production headquarters, so as they begin to work with emerging talent on the island and involving them in the productions, they will begin to expand. There is even work being done to produce movies about Virgin Islands’ history by working with some of these filmmakers.
“We have to get it broadcast quality. We want to take our content to the world. It has to have that look, that feel, that actually grabs the attention of the audience,” Reid said.
To watch the full interview with Tim Reid, click the video below.
