Whoever said 2020 was going to be a big year was right. According to Deadline, Black News Channel (BNC) will launch at the top of the new year in January and will be a station that only broadcast news related to the African American community. The new platform was co-founded by former Oklahoma Congressman J.C. Watts and TV executive Bob Brillante.
According to the publication, the network was set to launch this year in 33 million households via cable and satellite but moved to 2020 as a way to bank on new technologies and platform services. “Our network is about providing intelligent programming that is informative, educational, inspiring and empowering to our African American audience, so they are participants in a national conversation,” J.C. Watts said in a statement. “If we have the opportunity to include the largest African American audience possible from day one, then that should be our top priority.”
BNC will be available in Los Angeles, Atlanta and New York and has signed deals with Comcast, Charter and Dish Network. Former CNN anchor Fred Hickman, and Emmy Award-winning journalists Laverne McGee as well as Anthony Amey are set to the head news anchors for the network.
BNC launches January 6th.