Black News Channel

The Black News Channel (BNC) is an American pay television news channel, targeting the African American demographic. The channel is based in Tallahassee, Florida, and launched on February 10, 2020.[1] The station was co-founded by television executive Bob Brillante and former congressman J.C. Watts. Watts is its inaugural chairman.[1]

Black News Channel
CountryUnited States
Broadcast areaUnited States
HeadquartersTallahassee, Florida
Programming
Language(s)English
Ownership
Key peopleBob Brillante
J.C. Watts (chairman of student affairs)
Shahid Khan (investor)
History
LaunchedFebruary 10, 2020 (2020-02-10)
ClosedMarch 25, 2022 (2022-03-25)
Links
Websitebnc.tv

Charter Spectrum,[2] Comcast Xfinity,[3] DirecTV[4] and Verizon Fios[5] carried the channel's linear feed, while Dish Network carried it as a video-on-demand service. In March 2021, BNC was available in 52 million homes, compared to over 83 million for the major cable news outlets and 75 million for conservative news network Newsmax TV.

On March 25, 2022, reports emerged that the channel would immediately shut down due to lack of funding. The reports were confirmed later in the day by CEO Princell Hair. The network's discontinued all of its live programming that afternoon, and most of its remaining staff was laid off. However, BNC remains operational as a moribund service, filling its airtime with taped programming.[6]

History

J.C. Watts had planned to launch a news network focusing specifically on black American cultural topics since the mid-2000s, and had several rounds of unsuccessful capital-raising in developing the project.[7] In the mid-2010s, a partnership with Florida A&M’s School of Journalism & Graphic Communication was announced, and the station was slated to be housed there. The channel eventually launched independently of the school, in a building on Killearn Center Boulevard in Tallahassee.[7]

The launch of the network was announced in November 2018 for 2019.[7] The launch date was pushed from November 15, 2019 to January 6, 2020[8] before being pushed again to its eventual launch date, February 10, 2020.[9] One of the chief investors in the network is Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shahid Khan.[10]

In July 2020, former CNN executive Princell Hair was named president and CEO of Black News Channel.[11][12]

In March 2021, BNC reached an agreement with CBS Media Ventures to handle advertising sales.[13] That same month, BNC launched a revamp of its prime time lineup; progressive black commentators were added to the lineup (in contrast to its chairman Watts, who is a prominent conservative Republican).[14]

Much of the network's staff were either dismissed or departed beginning in December 2021.[15] In January 2022, 13 current and former female employees filed a class action lawsuit against BNC, accusing the network of gender discrimination.[16] In response, BNC sent out a memo to their current employees informing them of the network's intent to file a motion for dismissal of the lawsuit.[17]

On March 25, 2022, it was reported that the channel would be shutting down imminently after Khan pulled his funding following a failed attempt to sell the network. Live programming was discontinued at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time that afternoon, with the remainder of that day's schedule being filled with taped programming, mainly involving the Supreme Court confirmation hearing of Ketanji Brown Jackson. As of March 26, BNC remains operational, carrying various other programs and films it has the rights to.[18] The network would file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on March 28.[19]

Former on-air personalities

References
  1. Former lawmaker, cable veteran launch 24-hour Black News Channel. UPI, February 10, 2020.
  2. The nation's first 24/7 network for African American news is now available on Spectrum Charlotte News & Observer, February 24, 2020
  3. Dobson, Byron. "Comcast expands access, visibility for viewers of Tallahassee's Black News Channel". Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved 2022-02-28.
  4. Black News Channel Joins DIRECTV's Line Up Black News Channel press release, August 28, 2020
  5. R. Thomas Umstead (2021-06-23). "Black News Channel Reaches Carriage Deal with Verizon Fios TV". Multichannel News. Retrieved 2022-02-28.
  6. "Shad Khan's Black News Channel is shutting down". Los Angeles Times. 2022-03-25. Retrieved 2022-03-25.
  7. Live from Tallahassee, Black News Channel plans national launch next month. Tallahassee Democrat, January 16, 2020.
  8. Black News Channel will launch broadcast in new year on Jan. 6, 2020. USA Today, November 6, 2019.
  9. "First 24-hour news channel "by and for" African Americans set to launch during Black History Month". NBC News. Feb 10, 2020. Retrieved Feb 10, 2020.
  10. Black News Channel looks to shake up US cable TV. BBC, February 10, 2020
  11. Umstead, Thomas (13 July 2020). "Black News Channel Names Former CNN Exec Princell Hair as CEO". Retrieved 21 March 2021.
  12. Basanta, Tatianna (21 September 2020). "Alumnus named president and CEO of Black News Channel". Retrieved 21 March 2021.
  13. Hayes, Dade (2021-03-16). "BNC, After Launch Last Year As The Black News Channel, Sets Ad Deal With CBS Media Ventures". Deadline. Archived from the original on 2021-03-16. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
  14. Weprin, Alex (2021-03-31). "Black News Channel Preps Primetime Reboot (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2022-03-25.
  15. Antoinette Siu (March 25, 2022). "Black News Channel Shuts Down 2 Years After Launch". The Wrap.
  16. Class Action Lawsuit Cook County, Illinois Circuit Court, January 4, 2022.
  17. Jones, Scott (January 7, 2022). "We Will Be Filing to Dismiss..." FTVLive. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  18. Battaglio, Stephen (March 25, 2022). "Shad Khan's Black News Channel is shutting down". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  19. "Black News Channel Files for Bankruptcy With Up to $50 Million in Debt," from The Wrap, 3/29/2022
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