Black News Channel, the sole African American-led news network in the US, has arrived
The country’s sole African American-led news network has arrived.
Black News Channel debuted this week, the second week of Black History Month, to fill what its founders called a void in representation in national news. The network began broadcasting in select markets on Monday.
The 24-7 cable channel features black anchors “dedicated to the unique perspective of African American communities,” according to a statement from its co-founders J.C. Watts and Bob Brillante, and will debut in “majority African American markets” first, according to its website, including Atlanta and Los Angeles.
It’s available to select Spectrum and Xfinity X-1 customers and will premiere on Sling and Roku at a later, unspecified date.
It aims to reach 100 million households at the end of its rollout.
In addition to Watts, a former Republican congressman and current Black News Channel chair, the channel’s leadership team and anchor lineup are almost exclusively African Americans.
Programming will include a health series focused on medical issues that impact African Americans as well as traditional morning and primetime news programs.
In an appearance on NPR’s All Things Considered, Watts said that while major news outlets feature black hosts and guests, they’re rarely focused on uniquely African-American experiences.
“I think there needs to be a more comprehensive story told about the African American community, and we’ll have a venue to do that,” he told NPR.
The channel won’t take sides, but it’s got bipartisan support
Black News Channel will tackle politicized topics but won’t take a side, Watts said.
“We’re not looking to be liberal or conservative,” he told NPR. “We want to provide a venue for African Americans to have a voice, to be a part of the dialogue that’s going on in the country, be it incarceration reform or impeachment.”
“I can’t tell you how excited I am that there is going to be a 24 hour, seven day a week Black News Channel,” California Rep. Karen Bass, Chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, said at the launch event. “I was thrilled from day one.”
“We’ve been really pushing for diversity and inclusion in the broadcast space and cable space and it’s because we live in a multi-racial civil society,” said New York Rep. Yvette D. Clarke. “For far too long, our media didn’t speak to that and today still doesn’t speak to that diversity. The Black News Channel will fill a void in many spaces.”
While the network’s availability is limited, Watts plans to grow its reach.
The company already employs over 60 people at its headquarters in Tallahassee, Florida, and has goals to build bureaus in Washington, New York and Atlanta, too.
