Will this new TV Network address the void is quality programming geared to Black Americans?

The nation’s first-ever over-the-air broadcast television network designed exclusively for African-American audiences will launch this fall. The new network, Bounce TV, will target African Americans primarily between the ages of 25-54 with a programming mix of theatrical motion pictures, live sporting events, documentaries, specials, inspirational faith-based programs, off-net series, original programming and more.

Bounce TV will air twenty four hours a day, seven days a week as a digital terrestrial network designed for carriage on the digital signals of local television stations. The new network has already acquired the television rights to nearly 400 African American-skewing motion pictures in four individual, multi-year licensing agreements.

There is such a need for more quality programming. The Black community wants more than old school movies, a few comedies and music videos. 

Bounce TV’s Founding Group includes two legendary figures of recent American history and the network’s leadership team is filled with veteran entertainment industry executives.

The Founding Group is led by Ambassador Andrew Young, Martin Luther King III and Andrew “Bo” Young III. Rob Hardy and Will Packer, co-founders of Rainforest Films, one of the top African American production companies in the world, will also play important roles with Bounce TV.

Hardy will serve as Chief Content Officer while Packer will be Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer. Former Turner Broadcasting executives Ryan Glover and Jonathan Katz will serve as Executive Vice Presidents. Bounce TV will be majority owned and operated by African Americans, with Ambassador Young, Andrew “Bo” Young III, Rob Hardy, Will Packer and Ryan Glover part of the initial ownership team. The network is leveraging the marketing, digital, post production and operational resources of Atlanta-based CSE, one of the country’s leading independently-owned sports, entertainment and television production agencies.

“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. We look forward to Bounce TV entertaining African American viewers for many years to come,” 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. 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,” said Mr. King III, a member of Bounce TV’s Board of Directors.

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OK, I am one of those hip, in the know brothers who actually does not have cable. LOL So, I haven't been checking out TV One shows, other than portions I find online. I honestly, as a parent, have been opposed to cable because although you have some good content, i.e. History and Nature channels, but there is so much foolishness that I did not feel like monitoring.

Well, this may encourage me to breakdown and get cable. My Morehouse brother Pastor Jamal Bryant, head of the Empowerment Temple will be helping the brothers from Jodeci as they work to resurrect their lives and their careers. I love Brother Pastor Jamal's spirit. He's a good brother. As Salaam Alaikum Brother Jamal!

So, I received a news release from my Spelman sister, Tosha Whitten-Griggs. I love the use of the word resurrect and the possibilities of this reality TV show which sounds different from other reality shows I've seen. As a student of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, I am studying his words that related directly to the theme of "resurrection".

Back in 1986, Min. Farrakhan launched a course of study focused on self-improvement. He said, "each study session is designed on the guidance of Allah (God) to produce; self-examination; self-analysis; self correction; and to quick in each of us, the self-accusing spirit. For, it is only when we are awakened morally that we have to face the self-accusing spirit that lead to our resurrection (emphasis mine)."

Big props to Sister Cathy Hughes. Here's the link to a video teaser about the show.

Here's what the release Tosha send me:

"Pastor Jamal Bryant puts together a team to help heal the brothers’ bodies, minds and souls, with support from friends, including Charlie Wilson, André Harrell, A.J. Johnson and Jodeci bandmate Devante Swing

K-Ci and JoJo Hailey had it all. . .talent, fame and fortune. Small town boys who made their mark in the music industry early in life, they relished and indulged in the trappings of success. As half of the chart-topping group Jodeci in the early ‘90s and later as an award-winning R&B duo, the superstar brothers churned out one hit after another and seemed to be on top of the world. . .until their actions started to make more headlines than their music. 
 
Beginning Tuesday, Oct. 19 at 9 PM and 9:30 PM ET in two back-to-back episodes, TV One will premiere  K-Ci and JoJo. . .Come Clean, a new nine-episode reality series that offers viewers an unvarnished glimpse into the  journey of the R&B superstars as they fight their shared demon, alcoholism, in an attempt to save their lives and careers. The duo, living together for the first time in more than a decade, will endure radical medical treatments, physical training and medical and spiritual therapy to help them stay sober.   Yet each day, they must come to terms with the ever-present temptations that go hand-in-hand with their fame and fortune.  By any means necessary, K-Ci & JoJo are determined to reclaim their position in the music world, regain the respect of their peers in the industry, and their place in the hearts and minds of millions of fans. 
 
The only thing paramount to regaining their celebrity status is the preservation of their own lives.   Hence the group’s manager,Damon Jones, reaches out to Pastor Jamal Bryant, the prominent, progressive, young clergyman from Baltimore, MD. The pastor pulls together a team of professionals who will work with their manager to resurrect K-Ci & JoJo’s minds, bodies and souls.  Keeping with the familial theme, that team consists of husband and wife medical doctors, as well as Pastor Bryant’s sister,Dr. Thema Bryant-Davis, a frequent panelist on Dr. Phil and a licensed psychologist, poet, dancer, and minister, who weaves spirituality and the healing use of artistic expression into her therapies.

Also on hand to support K-Ci & JoJo on their path to health and redemption, are celebrity friends and guests, including R&B legend Charlie Wilson; actress and celebrity lifestylist A.J. Johnson; recording industry mogul André Harrell, and their Jodeci bandmate, Devante Swing.
 
From their outpatient rehab…to emotional therapy sessions…to their North Carolina roots, where their musical career began, every aspect of their lives are examined and explored.  K-Ci & JoJo must also face the realities of a post-recession, digital music industry while trying to fight against what some in the entertainment world consider a fate worse than death… becoming has beens. Raw and real… K-Ci & JoJo …Come Clean is an emotional rollercoaster that affirms the amazing power of the human mind, faith and love. 
 
The half-hour reality series, which will repeat Tuesdays at midnight and 12:30 AM, is produced for TV One by Ultrawave Vision Productions. Executive producers are Carl Craig, Damon Jones and Gregory Everett. TV One executives in charge of production are Robyn Greene-Arrington and Craig Henry.