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Bounce TV, which bills itself as the nation’s first over-the-air broadcast TV network designed exclusively for African-American audiences, announced today that it will launch in the fall via carriage on the digital signals of local stations. The 24/7 digital network plans to target the 25-54 demographic with a “mix of theatrical motion pictures, live sporting events, documentaries, specials, inspirational faith-based programs, off-net series and original programming.” It has signed multi-year licensing agreements with NBCUniversal Domestic Television Distribution for almost 200 films; Sony Pictures Television for almost 100 titles, Codeblack Entertainment for movies and documentaries; and Image Entertainment for more than 50 movies, docs and stage plays.
The network’s founders include Ambassador Andrew Young and Martin Luther King III. Rob Hardy and Will Packer, co-founders of Rainforest Films, will serve as chief content officer and chief strategy/marketing officer, respectively. Former Turner Broadcasting executives Ryan Glover and Jonathan Katz will serve as EVPs. “I am proud that our network will deliver free programming exclusively for our under-served community and be accessible to all homes around the country and not just those who pay for television,” Young said. “We look forward to Bounce TV entertaining African American viewers for many years to come.”
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Has anyone heard of The Africa Channel (of which Andrew Young is also an early participant) that’s been around since 2005. Okay, it’s cable, but it’s got terrific shows…if you can find it it.
How progressive.
*sarcastic*
Maybe if some networks decided to address issues that affect African-Americans then there wouldn’t be a need for a network like this.
These issues should be looked at first:
1) About 70 percent of births are by single mothers
2) Highest percentage of people in prison
Indeed… why on earth would african americans be interested in seeing realistic depictions of themselves on tv?!
Why do you have to feel sarcastic about pioneering efforts at getting more African Americans, Blacks, and people of color onto television in a more positive attempt to represent themselves? Im sure the Hispanics are perfectly fine with how they are represented on ALL their networks created by them and mainly for them. Come on! Why be sarcastic at these visionaries?
these got to be White peoples comments. racism runs deep in their DNA!
right, because the idea that racism is in white dna isn’t racist at all
If this is the first, what’s BET then?
Not over-the-air.
BET is a national cable network, Bounce TV is the first over-the-air BROADCAST TV network (like a FOX or an ABC).
cable
How do blacks get away with this? If somebody were to launch a channel that catered to whites all hell would break loose. This is nothing more than double standard racism and we should be beyond that.
Most station cater to whites everyone just feels that it’s a given that most show’s should have all white main players with the occational person of color mixed in–The fact that you would even make this comment is amazing to me
ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox cater to white people.
Are you serious? Have you watched NBC (Nothing But Caucasians) recently? The networks have all but banned people of color from their shows. And please tell me which of the big networks or cable channels, aside from BET doesn’t “cater exclusively” to whites?
If you don’t like it then don’t watch it, but don’t whine about it.
LOL @ Nothing But Caucasians. Funny. And just think NBC and CBS gave us Sanford and Son, The Jeffersons, Good Times, and The Cosby Show (which saved NBC in the ’80s). Oh how times change.
And African-American shows like LIVING SINGLE and IN LIVING COLOR helped put Fox on the map–but as soon as that net was sure it had a steady, successful flow of upscale-white-folks shows coming in, that was the end of diversity over there.
lmao @ “how do blacks get away with this?”
that’s pure, 100% unfiltered racist garbage right there.
TJ, for you to leave a comment like that, shows were not beyond this. It sounds like you are jealous. Now aint that the pot calling the kettle you know what.
In reply to TJ
C’mon son! Think about the reason, the need, the purpose, and the qualifyers for such a network. All blacks and people of color are not into ‘Desperate Housewives, Bones, The Office, Sienfeld, SNL, ESNP College, and shows that have predominantly white castmembers.
How often do you watch Univision, Telemundo, BET, TV One, or the Africa Channel? Please dont make Blacks out to be troublemakers and the original racist group simply because they desire to have appropriate, adequate and SUFFICIENT programing that would somewhat mirror their reality and show more of them in sports, movies, and news programming.
There is a legitimate reason such a network like BOUNCE may be needed in these days.
Founders (check), CMO (check), CCS
(check) Who’s the CEO? Soooo, okay.. Am I fan of trying anything once…and certainly commend all parties involved. But this reminds me of that black search engine (that’s right it sunk before it got started). At what point will cultural inclusion take place vs throw black folk a bone? Nowwwww we get a broadcast network now that Gen y lives online, and truth is black folks not trying to remember thier black 365 days (McDonalds) – we live this way daily already! Why WE can’t move on from defining us as a race and just being black as a culture and focus on the quality of service, the building of next-level business and the growth of our families? Are we not past the “over the air broadcast” stage and on to other mediums? Why we cant get beyond the curve, vs get happy because we finally can get behind it. And how come the deals have to be about segregation? I mean really at the end of the day while I think effort is great, can’t a network be created based on culture vs the color of my skin? Y’all know goodwell an all black network won’t work for black folks because we too busy trying to fit in the general population. They need to take a page from Oprah – own, diversify and build it based on a culture vs the color of the skin – all this says is we will continue stay in a single lane and that change will only take place when the otherside have figured out the next step in the game. Wake up people! If you’re not smart enough to figure it out, then get smart enough to hire the right people to do it for you and stop putting us back a decade. It’s always the old players who are able to affect change, but never does.
There is no problem with having a station that will provide a vehicle for show that contain predominatly black casts–The funny thing is, is that the station will more than likely wind up being the most diverse station on television–It’s funny that Black station is mentioned and before the station hits the airwaves quality comes into question–We screw ourselves out of progress–From what I read they plan on pulling from web based material as well and many of the programs that contain casts of color that have great storylines and actors are coming from the new web-series, but this gives those people an opportunity to make some money off those shows–What can be wrong with that
I think its a great idea. There are no over the air channels that promote the shows like Girl Friends and The Game. I hope that they produce more shows like this and I also hope that they produce more business shows that target African American business owners.
I mean I get that the black audience is, with certain exceptions, basically ignored by mainstream Hollywood, largely out of economic rationalization borne of ignorance, laziness and some good old fashioned racism but how will this work, practically speaking?
How can you grow your network? It’s not like eventually every black person in the country is going to only look at this network. And we know white people ain’t watching. And don’t all the things that prevent black people from making inroads into film and television i.e., popular mainstream misconceptions like “all black people only watch X. only black people are interested in Y. no black people will spend Z, etc. necessarily restrict the quantity and quality of content? How many Tyler Perry movies can you license?(he asked rhetorically and with great trepidation).
I can understand creating a network brand with signature programming as AMC has done with Breaking Bad, Mad Men & Walking Dead but I can not watch the same basketball/hip hop/gospel themed BS that passes for “urban” movies on cable. I can watch college and pro sports, well anywhere else.
So again who, what, why and how?
Maybe having a station like this will show you that the black experience isn’t solely the urban experience–That’s why I believe this could be a great opportunity to widen the viewpoint of those who still believe that it is–I don’t listen to rap music and my brother is a 6-3 Network engineer who has never played basketball in his life–He doesn’t even watch it—He lives in an affluent neighborhood with his wife and 2 children
If whoever is at the helm is smart they won’t promote the fact that the network is all black they will promote the quality of the show’s the same way that it isn’t said that ABC NBC & CBS are predominantly white stations they just promote the shows–
To FunkDubious, where you’re wrong is white people ARE and WILL BE watching. Whites searching for that “authentic” negro experience will be first in line for this, just like they are with hip-hop. And we all know basketball/hip-hop/gospel is the “authentic” negro experience, as opposed to the borgie, educated, professional Cosby Show alternate reality
:::eyeroll:::
Are you kidding me? Damn near every show on tv now has a black man/white woman relationship/sex scene but no black woman/white man. In addition NBC had an all black spy series this year that failed miserably. What about TBS? It should be TPS for all the Tyler Perry shows. So enough of this no black representation.
You people don’t get it. Black people keep trying things like this because we know the business is completely biased. Only on CBS do you see black men in meaningful leads and behind the camera, well, lets just admit that it’s mostly lily white. (Insert Shonda Rhimes exception here because one black person working solve everything)
Until Hollywood learns to be truly inclusive, the country will get “browner” and they struggle to remain all white and force another generation to worship white images. Meanwhile, venture like these will continue siphon off viewers.
Here, here.
Damn straight, NoCountry. As well, networks like this give black writers/directors/actors a place to start/go to when white-run studios/networks refuse to give the former a fair chance. (As much as I can’t stand Tyler Perry, he gave a lot of black actors their first major movie exposure. And he’s practically built a Preston Sturges-type stable of black character actors who get roles constantly.) It’s the same reason HBCUs (historically-black colleges and universities) are still around–to have a place we can go where education is the thing, not race.
So it’s discrimination based on discrimination?
This is great! Maybe black writers like myself will actually have a chance at being hired.
Hopefully there will eventually be original programming that needs real writers, and that the door will be open for new talent, not just already-known circles. The whole industry needs fresh creative brains!
What this means is that shows like Undercovers, Chicago Hope (old hospital drama), Girlfriends, and other scripted programming featuring African-Americans might have a chance to be on TV for several seasons and get a proper send-off when it’s over.
The CW, WB, UPN, all used African-American shows to build their audience and clout, and when they succeeded to the mainstream, they got rid of those shows for other types of programming.
Now, with this network, those shows can remain viable and there can be even more inclusive programming.
I have nothing but encouragement for this endeavor, but the question that needs to be asked is who is funding this operation (i.e. is there a real network money at play with this).
The one thing you always worry about with a place like BET, is they say they don’t have any money. If this network tries to cheap it, network style, not sure how this is going to do well.
Also, you have to wonder where the affiliates are going to come from. Are they trying to take over the MyNetwork TV affiliates. Is this going to be on a digital sub-channel. They said this is a broadcast network, but will they even have 98% coverage in this country?
I’d really love to get an answer on that one.
Whoops, just went back and re-read the article. It’s going to be on a digital sub-channel. They are really going to have to market the hell out their programs via viral marketing to make this work. The only one I know that’s sort of making headway right now is AntennaTV, showing all those classic TV shows.
the new network is not that bad, i just hope they put up some tv shows or something?
I’m a little offended that at least one person has assumed “white people” won’t watch anything on this network. I’m watching a movie on there now and found this while trying to figure out the name of the movie. Watched a few other things on here and while it wasn’t all my taste that’s no different than any other station where I like some shows and not others. If the actor in a tv show or movie is good then I don’t care if they’re white or black. While I’m a little sad the tv station took over a station that showed old movies I’m sure this won’t be the last time I watch something on this station.
I think Bounce TV is a good thing. I have read the many comments. Hey, I’m a near 50 year old white guy who watched Soul Train and Fat Albert back in the day. From what I have seen, the message is quite positive, as most of the movies and shows are of the old school and the content certainly shows how morals existed then, more so than todays “hood” offerings. Though one would hope young black audiences would warm up to Bounce, I doubt it. I’ve watched plenty of what the station has to offer, and yes it is certainly geared to the retro audience. I’ve heard a lot of screaming over the slogan “tv our way”. I think this is more of a reflection of the target generation audience, than a mere pro black movement. They remember when black programming was quite sparse on network TV and at the movie theatre. I certainly do. So, really, I see this slogan as harmless. What Bounce does show is how talented many of the actors were and still are. This hopefully will rub off on today’s actors and actresses. Maybe even on todays displaced youth who rely on gangs and thugs as mentors. Bounce TV’s existence does prove one thing. We have come very far in racial equality. Bounce could never existed many years ago. Dr. King would be smiling at what has been accomplished. I think the so called white racist is few today when compared to years ago, just as the black racist. With that said, racism will only live as long as we allow those organizations who seek to keep it alive. Bounce TV is proof on how far we’ve come than some care to admit.
I live in ny and this the first time i heard of this station it recently came on so i googled. So far what i’ve seen are 70 related shows. Big Deal when further reading comments i see there is a problem because is suppose to be directed to a/a only again Big Deal we have been looking at all white television since it was invented but as soon as someone says a/a content now it is reverse racsim why can’t we just leave well enough alone watch or not its still individual choice