NEWS - Computers & Technology

Nov 7 – Bounce TV Starts Up in Savannah Market January 2012, on WTOC SubStation

By Lou Phelps

Nov 7, 2011 - The new multicast channel targeted to African Americans – BounceTV – will begin to broadcast in Savannah in January 2011.  The network got its first big carriage deal last May when RayComm, which owns WTOC-TV in Savannah, agreed to carry the new channel in 26 markets, including Savannah.   

Bounce TV’s founders include Martin Luther King III, Ambassador Andrew Young, Andrew “Bo” Young III, and Rob Hardy and Will Packer, co-founders of Rainforest Films, one of the top African American production companies in the world.

The network went live in September, and will begin to broadcast in the Savannah area in January 2012. Raycom will carry it in 26 markets covering 10% of U.S. TV homes and nearly 19% of African-American TV homes.

Bounce TV is the first African American broadcast network, and features a programming mix of motion pictures, sporting events, documentaries, specials, inspirational faith-based programs, off-network series and original programming.

Its schedule includes movies with “proven playability among black audiences,” such as A Raisin in the Sun, Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing, Shackles, Glory, and a week of Richard Pryor comedies, according to the company. The rest of its on-air lineup features acquired TV shows such as Soul Train, a mix of original programming: sports (primarily, black college football games), documentaries and faith-based programs.

Bounce TV isn't the first or only network targeting African Americans. Bob Johnson sold BET to Viacom in 2000 for $3 billion, and it's still going strong, according to BounceTV, while TV One launched in 2004 with backing by Radio One and Comcast. Other entrants in the space have struggled, however, including Black Family Channel, which closed in 2007.

According to co-founder Martin Luther King III, "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,” in an interview with The Wrap.

Bounce president Ryan Glover sees plenty of room for the network as black viewers are "desperately underserved." He's targeting an older demo than BET, whose audience skews younger and favors hip-hop videos, he states.