Aspire has acquired the rights to two 1990s comedy series, The Hughleys and In Living Color, as part of an agreement between the African-American targeted network and Fox Studios.

The Hughleys, which starred comedian D.L. Hughley and ran on ABC from 1998 to 2000 and UPN from 2000 to 2002, will debut on Aspire Aug. 5 with a 13-hour marathon before settling into its Monday – Friday 6 -8 pm timeslot. The series will also have additional airings on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 8 pm to 1 am, said network officials.

Aspire will debut the variety/sketch series In Living Color – which aired on Fox from 1990 to 1994 -- with a 13-hour Labor Day marathon on Sept. 4 before assuming The Hughleys' Monday – Friday 6 to 8 pm timeslot, said the network. The Hughleys will then air from 4 to 6 pm during the week, said network officials.

"We are thrilled to have The Hughleys and In Living Color join the Aspire line-up," said Melissa Ingram, vice president and channel manager in a statement. "Both series were ahead of their time when they originally premiered and include themes and storylines that are still relevant today. Aspire is excited to introduce a new generation to these timeless comedies as well as satisfy fans of the series who want to experience some of their favorite characters again."

Comcast Corp Tuesday said it will add to its lineup two kids-targeted, Hispanic focused channels in January as part of its NBCUniversal merger requirement to launch eight minority-owned networks by 2019.

The two networks, Kids Central and Primo TV, will debut in January 2017, bringing to six the number of primarily minority owned and operated networks Comcast committed to launch by 2019 as part of its merger with NBCUniversal in 2011. The other four include African-American owned Aspire Tv (launched in 2012) and Revolt Tv (2012), and Hispanic-owned and targeted networks El Rey (2013) and BabyFirst Americas (2012).

Comcast senior vice president and general manager of Multicultural Services Javier Garcia told Multichannel News that the company did not set out to launch two English language, kids-targeted channels, but Kids Central and Primo Tv turned out to be the best of several dozen network proposals submitted for consideration. He added the two channels – Kids Central, which will target bilingual Hispanic kids 3 to 7, and Primo Tv. which will focus on Hispanic tweens and teens aged 6 to 16 – complement BabyFirst Americas’ toddler-targeted channel in providing a full complement of kids-targeted content targeted to young Hispanic viewers.

“We saw a lot of white space in [Hispanic-targeted kids content],” he said. “The criteria was to look at the ownership and managerial structure of the services and to make sure it was run by independent networks owned by Hispanic Americans. We also looked at potential for distribution or carriage beyond Comcast – all those things led to these networks."

Condista Networks-owned Kids Central will offer English-language, family-oriented programming targeted to Hispanic viewers ages 3 to 7. The network will also feature both English and Spanish-language video on demand content, according to network officials.

Primo Tv, predominantly owned by V-Me Media Inc., will offer scripted and non-fiction animated and live action content that will both entertain and educate viewers aged 6 to 16, according to Victor Cerda, senior vice president at V-Me Media. The network will also offer STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Awareness targeted to U.S. Hispanic audiences.

Garcia would not say how many subscribers Comcast would provide both Primo Tv and Kids Central at launch, but he said expects that both networks will gain carriage from other distributors once launched.

After the launch of Kids Central and Primo Tv, Comcast will turn its focus on launching African-American targeted networks, according to Garcia, although he would provide specifics.

Having a big brother can be a very good thing for an independent cable network.

The proof is in the numbers — all of the independents that showed the biggest gains in carriage over the past six months have been in some way connected to a much larger content provider or distributor, like ESPN, Comcast or Sinclair Broadcast Group.

Among indie networks, Sinclair’s Tennis Channel had the biggest gain in subscribers between 2015 and 2016, according to SNL Kagan, adding 14.1 million customers. In second place was BabyFirst TV, with an increase of 10.2 million customers.

Rounding out the Kagan list is Boomerang (7.2 milion), FM (7.2 million) and beIN Sports (6.9 million). BabyFirst is one of the minority-controlled networks launched by Comcast as part of the conditions surrounding the FCC approval of its purchase of NBC Universal. Boomerang is owned by Turner Broadcasting (Time Warner Inc.), FM is part of Fuse Media — which includes cable network Fuse and is owned in part by MSG Networks — and beIN Sports is part of beIN Media Group, which operates 34 channels in 33 countries.

The big brother trend was prevalent between 2014 and 2015 as well, according to Kagan, when SEC Network (launched by ESPN) added 38.8 million homes. That year BabyFirst came in second again, with 10.2 million additions. It was followed by Univision Deportes (part of Spanish-language broadcaster Univision Communications) with 8.5 million, Comcast-launched minority channel Aspire (owned in part by NBA legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson) and Fusion (owned by Univision Communications), each with 8.5 million additional homes.

‘A LITTLE BIT OF MUSCLE’

“Sinclair has a little bit of muscle,” Telsey Advisory Group media analyst Tom Eagan said regarding independent networks hooking up with larger companies. “Tennis Channel had very little leverage.”

Tennis Channel was available in about 37 million homes in February, one month before it closed its deal to be purchased by Sinclair for $350 million. Five months later Tennis Channel said, on the eve of its coverage of the U.S. Open tennis tournament, it is available in 47 million homes and is on a path to grow that to 60 million by mid-2017.

Fueling that growth is its relationship with Sinclair, which has been one of the more aggressive broadcasters regarding retransmission-consent negotiations with distributors. With Sinclair’s added heft — it owns, operates or provides services to 173 stations in 81 markets — Tennis Channel has reached carriage deals with several additional distributors, including Charter Communications, Dish Network, Suddenlink Communications, Cable One and Frontier Communications.

Last month, on a conference call to discuss quarterly results, Sinclair executive vice president and chief operating officer David Amy said the Charter deal alone — which wasn’t expected to kick in until mid-August — would add about 1 million homes to Tennis Channel’s rolls.

Tennis Channel is carried on the expanded basic or digital basic packages on Bright House, Charter, Dish Network, Frontier, Suddenlink and Cable One, with similar rollouts planned in the months ahead for AT&T U-verse, Buckeye, Comcast, DirecTV, Mediacom Communications, Cincinnati Bell and WideOpenWest.

Other broadcasters have turned to creating their own pay TV channels to boost revenue and make their overthe- air content more compelling. Tribune Media converted former superstation WGN into WGN America in 2008 and began collecting cable-carriage fees for it in 2014, and Sinclair launched American Sports Network in 2014 and sci-fi network Comet TV in 2015.

Having that extra content doesn’t always translate into more carriage and heftier fees. Tribune found that out on June 13, when Dish Network declined to renew its Tribune retransmission-consent agreement covering 42 Tribune stations in 33 markets and including WGN America. That dispute was ongoing at press time. (Note: Dish and Tribune Media resolved their dispute and Tribune stations and WGN America were restored to Dish on Sept. 3.)

This article was updated on Sept. 8 to correct factual errors concerning the ownership of the Boomerang channel, the conversion of WGN into WGN America and a reference to the Ring of Honor wrestling program.

AT&T and DirecTV will each launch the Magic Johnson-founded Aspire network as part of a new affiliation agreement with the African-American targeted service, the companies announced Monday.  

AT&T will also add UP network to its U-verse lineup as part of the deal. The family-friendly UP network, which is already on DirecTV’s lineup, negotiates affiliation deals for Aspire.

"We're pleased to bring these great channels that serve family audiences and expand entertainment options on both our U-verse and DirecTV platforms," said Dan York, chief content officer at AT&T in a statement. "With these networks come a diverse array of voices and perspectives that build on the wide variety of programming we carry today."

Added Aspire chairman and CEO Johnson: "“We salute AT&T for recognizing the value that Aspire brings to their customers with programming that is relatable, relevant and positive.  This is a fantastic way for us to close out a very successful year. Aspire will continue to provide a real and authentic view of the African-American community."

Aspire general manager Paul Butler is leaving the Earvin "Magic" Johnson-founded network, executives said Friday.

Butler, who has helmed the service since its launch in June 2012, is departing for personal reasons, according to the network. "Paul expressed a strong need to move home and spend more time with his family; and family always comes first," said Johnson.

Under his tenure, the African-American targeted network -- which launched as one of four independent, minority-owned networks selected for broad distribution by Comcast as part of the Federal Communications Commission-imposed conditions on its acquisition of NBCUniversal – grew to more than 21 million viewers while launching several original content such as talk show Exhale and its ABFF Independent series.

Johnson in a statement said the following:

Today, May 15, 2015, will be Paul Butler’s last day with ASPiRE where he has served as General Manager of the network since its launch in June 2012.  Paul expressed a strong need to move home and spend more time with his family; and family always comes first.

Under his leadership, we have grown the network to more than 21 million subscribers, produced high quality original programming, built the network as a platform for the next generation of African-American creative talent and established valuable and strategic partnerships with advertisers, affiliates and organizations. Among these partnership - the American Black Film Festival (ABFF), The White House Initiative on HBCUs and the Billion Dollar Roundtable have all been very critical to our success. On behalf of everyone at ASPiRE and Magic Johnson Enterprises, I thank Paul for his commitment and passion and wish him the best.

For all his accomplishments, perhaps the most important thing Paul did was to build a great team that has the energy, talent and creativity to continue our mission.  While we will miss Paul, we don’t expect ASPiRE to miss a beat. With the great team Paul assembled and help from our partners at UP, we will continue to grow, thrive and bring a distinct voice to the television landscape.  We wish Paul and his family all the best.

The Association of Cable Communicators will hold its educational conference, Forum 2015, in Silver Spring, Md., June 3-5 at the global headquarters of Discovery Communications. The co-chairs for the latest version of the annual conference are Chelsye J. Burrows, vice president, public relations, UP and ASPiRE and Pete Abel, senior vice president, corporate communications, Suddenlink Communications (pictured).

The 2015 conference theme is “Innovation and Disruption: Telling Cable’s Story in Times of Change.” Keynotes and panels will illuminate how technical advances in the industry are creating opportunities and new products, but also creating new competitors with OTT video providers, new subscription video options and others entering the home and mobile entertainment market, ACC said in a release.

Forum is ACC's national conference for cable communications and public affairs professionals who have responsibilities in corporate communications, government affairs, public relations, customer communications, social media, publicity and other communications disciplines. Forum also includes ACC’s annual Beacon Awards Gala. Forum attracts cable industry professionals ranging from entry-level communicators to senior executives.

For more information, please go to https://www.cablecommunicators.org/forum.php.

Newly minted TV One president Brad Siegel wants to better define the network’s brand in an effort to be more competitive.

Siegel, just tapped to head up operations for the 10-year-old channel, said consumers know it as an entertainment service targeting African-American viewers, but he said it needs to narrow its focus to be more successful.

“The network gets watched and they clearly know it’s targeted to African-Americans, but if you press people beyond the demographic, its gets harder to define the brand,” he said. “We need to do the work that goes into brand-building to better understand the audience.”

Siegel, formerly vice chairman for UP TV, inherits a 56.5 million-subscriber network that averaged 178,000 primetime viewers in November — down 11% compared to the same period last year — but has had success with such series franchises as Unsung, R&B Divas and, more recently, Hollywood Divas.

Though African-American viewers watch more television than any other group, TV One is competing with targeted services BET, Centric, Aspire and broadcast multicast service Bounce TV, as well as such general-entertainment networks as WE tv, Oxygen and Lifetime who are reaching out to African-American women through original reality shows.

“In order to compete in that increasingly competitive landscape, TV One’s brand has to be much better defined and articulated so that people really know what TV One is about, beyond it just being an entertainment network with a collection of programming that targets African-Americans,” Siegel said. “Once we define that brand it will direct our original programming development efforts in a more focused way.”

Siegel hopes to have a more defined brand for TV One by the upfront season next spring. “Hopefully by then, we’ll be able to shape the conversation about where TV One is going and where it needs to go in order to grow to the next level.”

As UP network — formerly the Gospel Music Channel — celebrated its 10th anniversary last week, network’s vice chairman Brad Siegel announced his plans to depart from the channel by year-end. Siegel spoke to Multichannel News programming editor R. Thomas Umstead about his decade-long run with the network and his future plans as well as his thoughts on an evolving cable industry. An edited transcript follows.

MCN: What was behind your decision to leave the network?

Brad Siegel: When I left Turner at the end of 2003, what I wanted to do was to build a network again. I’ve always liked startups and I wanted to build something from scratch and that’s what I did with Gospel Music Channel with 1,700 homes in Johnson, Tenn., 10 years ago. Now we’re in close to 70 million homes so it was a great ride.

From Gospel Music Channel to GMC: Uplifting Entertainment and now to UP, the mission has remained the same: to offer positive, family friendly entertainment. For me, we’ve done so much, so after 10 years I wanted to do something different. With my contract up at the end of the year, I approached Charley [Humbard, UP president and CEO] and said I’m really ready to move on and look for a new challenge. I have a few things in the works that I’ll announce in the near future.

MCN: What do you consider your legacy at UP?

BS: I’m proud of the fact that given our limited resources, we are in the middle of the pack out of 150 rated networks, even with our small marketing budgets and small original programming budgets, and I’m proud of building a place where people like to come to work to every day. There are a lot of networks and a lot of programming out there that people are not proud of, so I think that we built a place that’s a great place to work.

I’m also proud of the development of Aspire — it was a passion project for me along with Mr. [Earvin “Magic”] Johnson and then successfully [pitching] it to Comcast and being the first minority-owned network that Comcast launched as part of their commitment after they merged with NBC Universal. That was two years ago, and now the network is in 21 million homes and growing. It’s a brand that’s unique in the television landscape.

MCN: Your success with Gospel Music Channel/UP as an independently-owned network is rare in cable. How do you see today’s cable environment for launching a new independent channel?

BS: The environment of independent networks has only gotten worse. For independents and linear networks in general, you’re hard pressed to find a genre that’s really not represented on television. I think that the cost of competing in this environment today is so extraordinary, both for getting distribution and then getting ratings. Also, I don’t think we’ve ever seen the rate of change within the industry evolve as quickly as it’s moving now. The way people are consuming television has never changed at a rate faster than we are currently experiencing.

MCN: What would it take to launch a successful independent network today?

BS: You have to have a vision, a mission and a brand proposition that is clearly defined, and have a large and passionate target audience that understands and demands that brand. That to me is absolutely critical to succeed always, but more so in today’s cable environment.

MCN: Having said that would you entertain launching an independent television network in the future?

BS: No, not a startup. I definitely feel like I have another network or two in me and I’m looking at several other things and opportunities.

After a decade at the network, Brad Siegel has stepped down from his role as vice chairman of UP TV.

Siegel, along with Charley Humbard, launched the independent music-oriented service then known as Gospel Music Channel in 2004 to a handful of small distributors. Siegel joined Humbard, a Discovery Communications executive and son of TV preacher Rex Humbard, following his 2003 departure from Turner Broadcasting, where he ultimately served as president of Turner Entertainment Networks.

News of Siegel’s exit was first reported by Variety.

Siegel and UP, which was rebranded from GMC in 2013, also work closely with Magic Johnson’s Aspire cable network, handling programming, advertising and affiliate sales.

Humbard informed the staffs of both networks about Siegel today, noting that “we will move quickly to bring in a senior executive to assume Brad's responsibilities and expect to have an announcement in the very near future. In the meantime I will oversee programming and marketing, as we continue our development and production of original movies and series.”

Humbard levied praise on Siegel in his role is launching the service and spreading its growth to some 70 million subscribers today.

“Building a cable brand into the second-largest independent network in this challenging environment required a person with enormous energy, talent and relational strength," Humbard said is a statement.  "Having Brad as my partner for the last 10 years to develop UP TV into a leading destination for uplifting family entertainment has been enormously rewarding. Brad’s experience and relationships with advertisers and program distributors were invaluable in jump starting our business.  He spearheaded our successful push into original programming, an initiative that we will continue to expand as we move into 2015, and was instrumental in the launch of Aspire.  All of us at UP and Aspire wish Brad great success in his next endeavor.”

Aspire and TV One will get into the Halloween spirit with the premiere of horror-themed films in October.

Aspire on Oct. 13 will feature several horror short films from its ABFF Independent series, according to network officials. ABFF Independent – Out Of This World, features six focusing on the supernatural, folk tales, souls living in purgatory and life without water, said network officials.

TV One will air its first ever original horror film Oct. 18 dubbed The Fright Night Files (pictured), which features three short horror-themed films, according to network officials. The films, produced by TV One parent Radio One’s founder and chairperson Cathy Hughes, showcases three tales of deadly romance and features such actors as Elise Neal (The Hughleys), Lynn Whitfield (Eve’s Boyou) and Bokeem Woodbine (Ray).

“Expanding our original movie slate with a trilogy of terror required a relatable entry point and what better than tales of fatal attraction, as many of us have experienced relationships that end up feeling more like nightmares,” said D’Angela Proctor, senior vice president of programming and production, TV One in a statement. “The Fright Night Files delivers a perfect cinematic blend of romance, fear and excitement, just in time for Halloween.”

Aspire is partnering with the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities to increase awareness of the value and the legacy of HBCUs, the network announced.

The partnership will look to expose HBCU college students to entrepreneurs and professionals in corporate and private businesses to help guarantee the future success of African-American students, our communities and our nation. The strategic collaboration is a part of Aspire initiative to promote excellence in education among African-American students at HBCUs and to provide those students with professional development and support. 

Aspire will also support the WHIHBCU via on-air, online and social media by producing and broadcasting a series of custom vignettes showcasing the HBCU Week Conference running Sept. 22-23, said the network. In addition, the network will develop "I Aspire” profiles featuring students from the inaugural WHIHBCU All-Stars class. 

“Aspire is extremely proud to expand its commitment to improve educational opportunities for African- American youth at HBCUs by partnering with the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities,” said Paul Butler, general manager, Aspire in a statement.  “We recognize that HBCUs are an important part of our culture and safeguarding their legacy, along with enhancing educational, professional and entrepreneurial opportunities for the next generation of leaders, is critical to our nation’s future.”

Celebrities doing positive things within communities around the country will be the focus of a new Aspire reality series, Changemakers, the network announced Wednesday.

The series debus Sept. 24 and will spotlight African-American celebrities – such as Keshia Knight Pulliam and Chris “Ludacris” Bridges (pictured) – who are making a difference and reveal how and why they use their success to help others.  The six-episode series is executive produced by Swirl Films, according to network officials.

“Changemakers is a groundbreaking reality series that focuses on celebrities who are changing the game in their communities by doing extraordinary things,” said Aspire general manager Paul Butler in a statement. “We are committed to telling stories that otherwise go untold, and Changemakers features the exceptional work of many celebrities who are giving back to the community.  We are pleased to shine a spotlight on some of these generous acts."

Aspire is now available to Time Warner Cable systems in Texas as part of a distribution agreement reached between the two parties, the companies announced Thursday.

The African-American targeted network will launch on Time Warner Cable systems in San Antonio, Austin, Corpus Christi and Beaumont, according to network officials. The deals bring the two-year old channel, founded by NBA Hall Of Famer Earvin “Magic” Johnson, in front of more than 20 million households.

"We are delighted to be expanding Aspire’s relationship with Time Warner Cable and look forward to providing their customers in Texas with our great lineup of positive programming that includes original series, movies and sports," said Paul Butler, Aspire general manager.