New U.S. Broadcast Net to Target African Americans

ATLANTA: Bounce TV is a new 24/7 digital terrestrial network launching in the U.S. this fall that will target African Americans with movies, sports, specials, series and inspirational faith-based programs, among other genres.

The channel’s founding group include Ambassador Andrew Young, Martin Luther King III and Andrew "Bo" Young III.  Rob Hardy and Will Packer, co-founders of Rainforest Films, will serve as chief content officer and chief strategy and marketing officer, respectively. Former Turner Broadcasting executives Ryan Glover and Jonathan Katz are executive VPs. Young, Young III, Hardy, Packer and Glover are part of the initial ownership team.  

The target demo is African American adults aged 25 to 54. It will air as a digital terrestrial network, carried on the digital signals of local television stations. Ahead of its launch, it has scored almost 400 African American-skewing motion pictures. From NBCUniversal Domestic Television Distribution there are nearly 200 titles, including Ray, The Hurricane, The Bone Collector, Do The Right Thing, Jungle Fever and the 1976 classic Car Wash. Sony Pictures Television has licensed Bounce TV almost 100 films, including Philadelphia, Glory, Devil in a Blue Dress, Ali, Boyz ‘n The Hood, Stir Crazy, A Raisin in the Sun and Poetic Justice.

From the new content company Codeblack Entertainment come nearly 50 movies and documentaries featuring such stars as Morgan Freeman, Vanessa Williams, Bill Cosby, Gabrielle Union, Blair Underwood and Terrence Howard. And lastly, Image Entertainment has sold more than 50 titles to the network across movies, documentaries and stage plays. 

In other programming news, Bounce TV has entered into a multi-year rights agreement with Urban Sports Entertainment Group (USEG) to televise both football and basketball games from the nation’s largest African American athletic conference, the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA.)  

"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," commented Ambassador Young. "My father envisioned the day that African Americans would play major roles in entertainment within ownership, not just serve as entertainers on the stage or in front of the cameras," added King III, a member of the network’s board. "That’s what makes this even more exciting to me as we embark on this new endeavor of an independently owned and operated broadcast television network featuring African Americans."