By Colin Wilson

Rod Hansen – image supplied

I knew Rod had been ill for a long time but it always comes as a shock when it happens.

The first time I spoke to Rod was when he called me at 2am in the morning, many, many years ago.

My wife, Joan, formerly Watler/Bodden, (the last of nine) had been awarded, along with two others, a television franchize comprising a brodacst station and 10 cable channels.

In those days and we are going back many many years ago there were only 32 cable channels available – it was called MMDS (Mulipoint, multichannel, Distribution signal – all analogue – 2 of those chammels would be used for government work.

Using Joan’s retirement money we commenced broadcasting and relying on advertising revenue which was very, very, hard to get, we quickly started running out of money. Joan’s retirement money didn’t last that long, and government were very slow to let us commence the cable side.  They wanted to review how good our broadcast was going.   Broadcast was their number one concern and it was going to be at least another six months before they would issue a licence for cable.  Cable was where the money was.

We were also competing with another TV Broadcast Station CiTV owned by Desmond Seales who had illegally commenced broadcasting.  Desmong was a man who broke many rules and a lot od politicians and important people were scared of him. If he had ‘dirt’ on someone he was not afaraid to publish it.

There was a third station award to Bobby Bodden and governemnt were hoping we would join up with him, which we eventually did, but he was not providing any money then. We had to go it alone.

Then at the eleventh hour we got this 2am phone call. It was Rod Hansen who said he had heard we were srating up a broadcast station and did we neen any money?!!

He was ready to come down and meet with us. Rod was already involved in the USA with a television company but was leaving and thought Cayman was a nice place to retire and invest.

Joan and I met with him and as luck would have it he Desmond Seales’ station manager was leaving and I suggested Rod should talk to him before he left the Island.

Rod did and the rest is history.  Our station CITN, later to become Cayman 27 came to life.

We also joined up with Bobby Bodden’s franchise – his statiobn was  later to be called Island 24

Rod insisted that no family members could be employed, so my wife, Joan, who looked after the accounts team, she being an ex employee at Barclays/CICO Bank had to leave. She didn’t mind.

However, before six months had passed, Rod had installed four of his family at Cayman 27!!I could only laugh.

Joan and I had a good relationship with Rod. Jo loved him dearly. And we are both nuch, much saddened at his death,

He was our saviour and he loved broadcast television… He was as upset as we were at the closure of Cayman 27. 

Without Rod Cayman 27 would not have been. 

Condolences to his family.