Image: UBC-TV.com

This fall, Harlem entrepreneur Peggy Dodson will launch a new broadcast network featuring “multicultural programming,” UBC-TV. The “Urban Broadcast Co.” will begin with four hours of prime-time programming each day. All shows will come from Harlem.

Among the shows, UBC-TV will air shows on a range of topics including beauty and style, health and small business. The channel will also show American Basketball Association games, a news/talk program called A Different Perspective hosted by local journalist Felipe Luciano, and there are plans for a Soul Train/American Bandstand-style program called The UBC Mix Dance Show.

The channel will be available “in most urban centers” and on demand via Time-Warner, Dish Network and Comcast. Dodson started the channel with $600,000 of her own money and a stable of investors.

The network is the latest in a line of broadcast channels targeting black audiences announced over the past year or so. Bounce TV,  founded by Martin Luther King III, Ambassador Andrew Young and Andrew “Bo” Young III among others, launched in the fall. It continues to add programming and geographic locations where it can be viewed.

Little Rock, AR-based Soul of the South Network will be launching soon, available in Atlanta, Orlando, and Orlando where it says it will reach 62 percent of African-American households. We’ve got a promo video from the network’s website below.

And back in February, Diddy announced plans for a music-focused network called Revolt to launch at year’s end. The network was one of those chosen by Comcast (which pledged during government lobbying over the acquisition of NBCUniversal) to air a number of networks owned by minorities.

by R. Asmerom

All eyes have been on Oprah since she left her legendary talk show to launch a new cable channel which embodied the brand that she’s cultivated over 25 years, and it’s certainly been a rocky start for her OWN network. Or, at least, that’s what the news media has been so consistently communicating since OWN’s original CEO, Christina Norman, was fired last May over low ratings and Oprah took the helm.

Nearly a year later, and within the past month, OWN has cut 20 percent of its staff and cancelled The Rosie Show, which garnered 200,000 viewers a night in its short lived stint on the air.

It all seems dismal from the outside, for those reading the barrage of headlines reporting on what seems to be OWN’s imminent failure. But what may seem like doom, maybe just simple growing pains, says Keith Clinkscales of Shadow MediaWorks.

“If you look at the ratings of Oprah’s channel against comparable women’s channels at their same age of birth so to speak – Bravo, Oxygen, possibly WE – you’re going to see comparable ratings but because there is an O in there, the expectation and demand is a little bit higher.”

Although Norman was fired due to ratings and was criticized for not balancing the positive, uplifting programming with more entertaining programming that would attract a wider audience, Winfrey has yet to turn things around under her leadership. In an interview with CBS’ The Early Show, Winfrey admitted that she didn’t expect the immense challenges that came with her new career. “The idea of creating a network was something that I wanted to do. Had I known that it was this difficult, I might have done something else,”she  said. “I didn’t think it was going to be easy, but if I knew then what I know now, I might have made different choices.”

What Winfrey’s challenging journey affirms, however, is not that she can’t make a successful network happen but that launching a cable network is one hard business, according to Clinkscales. “I think Oprah is going to be fine,” he said. “Oprah will find a way to deliver her brand of quality in a format that works with her network. The thing to keep in mind is that she has 75 million homes with this network, and they have their bumps and their grinds.”

With OWN continuing to tweak and re-arrange their content offerings in hopes of finding a profitable path, Winfrey’s experience in cable is sure to lend insight onto the plans of Sean Combs aka Diddy and Magic Johnson who both announced the launch of cable networks through the Comcast Diversity Program. Comcast Corp. agreed to bring more ownership diversity to its channel offerings when it merged with NBC in 2011.

Source:People.com and crabsahoy.com

Tyler Perry isn’t the only man following in Oprah’s footsteps with a television network. Today, both Magic Johnson and Diddy announced two new ventures to change the face of television.

We’d heard about a month ago that Diddy might launch a network, but now the word on Revolt TV is official—and Diddy’s pretty excited about it. In a video announcement he thanked NBC and Comcast for recognizing the importance of minority ownership in cable television and invited Time Warner, Cable Vision and other distributors to follow suit. He also outlined his vision for the network:

“I’m going to give the artists this channel. It’s your channel to do what you wanna do how you wanna do it. It’s your opportunity to show your art the way you want to show your art—raw, uncut, uncensored, not destined by the charts and who’s pop. A channel that will give new artists an opportunity to get seen and get get heard…Today is a big day. The revolution will be televised.”

Diddy isn’t the only one Comcast has reached out to as part of its mission to launch 10 minority cable channels by 2018. Magic Johnson also has an upcoming network through the cable operator, and it’s expected to launch June 30. The network, Aspire, will show a mix of acquired and original film, television, music, performing arts, and comedy programming geared toward African Americans, Magic said.

“This is big for myself, for the African American community and the African American creative community. I wanted a vehicle to show positive images and to have stories written, produced and directed by African Americans for our community. Aspire — that’s how I’ve been leading my life.”

Aware of the risks and the issues Oprah has had with OWN, Magic said, “We’ll learn from those who have gone before us. We understand the landscape, and we will run a sound business.”

It’s good to see Comcast making good on it’s promise. Hopefully these channels will give African American viewers what they’ve been wanting.

What do you think about these new networks? Who would you like to see launch a cable channel?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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Reports say Sean “Diddy” Combs is expanding his empire with plans to launch a music-themed cable network reminiscent of the old MTV but for an African American audience. So basically a new BET, right?

The channel, called Revolt, is expected to launch 12/12/12 and is being promoted as a music and music news channel with an urban skew, and sources say the venture which former MTV programming chief Andy Schuon is involved with is well funded. Comcast will provide distribution as part of its commitment to the FCC to help launch minority owned networks. The company plans to launch 10 channels over the next eight years, including eight Hispanic or African American owned ones.

A Comcast rep didn’t confirm Diddy’s involvement but he said the company hopes to make an announcement soon. Previously, Comcast did announce plans to launch an African American-owned channel by January of 2013 so Revolt could definitely be it. Time Warner is also expected to get in on the distribution which means Revolt could land in 18 millions homes when it launches.

It will be interesting to see what the Bad Boy can do with TV.

What do you think about Diddy and this new Revolt channel? Could it be good for African American media?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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