UP Entertainment will add two additional subscription video-on-demand services to its portfolio with the launches of GaitherTV Plus and AspireTV Plus.

Aspire TV Plus, powered by the African-American targeted AspireTV linear channel, will launch this fall and feature lifestyle/entertainment content as well as a diverse selection of movies, series and independent films, documentaries and more that highlight stories and experiences of Black audiences, the company said. The linear AspireTV service was founded in 2012 by Basketball Hall of Famer Magic Johnson and purchased by UP Entertainment in 2019. 

Music-based GaitherTV offers full-length concerts and specials, series, documentaries, early premieres of new performances and shows and exclusive behind-the-scenes interviews from award-winning country, gospel, Bluegrass and Christian performers. The service will retail at $4.99, according to UP officials.

The two standalone streaming services will join the $5.99 per month UP Faith & Family SVOD offering. 

“Gaither is a beloved brand with a huge, passionate following and is perfect for a commercial-free streaming experience,” UP Entertainment Founder and CEO Charlie Humbard said in a statement. “AspireTV Plus brings compelling original programming from our leading Black and urban lifestyle brand.”

Added Gospel Music Hall of Famer Bill Gaither: “UP is a leader in presenting family-friendly entertainment with relevant, engaging platforms to households everywhere. We are looking forward to sharing GaitherTV Plus in new ways through this new partnership with UP Entertainment.” 

Aspire TV is marking its 10th anniversary with a new leader and a renewed commitment to serving its target African-American audience with quality informative and entertaining programming.

Aspire was founded in 2012 by NBA Hall of Famer Earvin “Magic” Johnson 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. Now owned by UP Entertainment after Johnson divested his majority ownership in 2019, the network continues to focus on promoting and reflecting Black culture and urban lifestyle through original and acquired programming. Leading the charge is UP Entertainment Senior VP of Multicultural Networks and Strategy Angela Cannon.

Formerly UP Entertainment VP of national accounts, content distribution and marketing, Cannon was part of Aspire’s original launch team and now oversees day-to-day management and oversight of Aspire TV along with FAST channel aspireTV Life. Cannon will also manage an original programming slate that includes the G. Garvin Live! cooking show, the Side By Side with Malika and Khadija Haqq talk show, as well as dedicated HBCU content and Black filmmaker-produced short films. 

Cannon recently spoke to Multichannel News about the network’s anniversary and its evolution, as well as its strategy to remain competitive in a very crowded television marketplace. An edited version of the interview appears below. 

Multichannel News: A decade ago Magic Johnson launched Aspire TV in an effort to bring more content to African-American viewers watching cable television. Has the network lived up to his aspirations? 

Angela Cannon: Absolutely. I was fortunate to be one of the people that actually worked in tandem with Mr. Johnson to conceptualize what Aspire is what we wanted it to be. At that time, we really wanted to make sure that it was a place to represent positivity across Black culture, Black images, Black family and Black affluence. What we've been able to do is shine a lens into what's possible, particularly for our young Black and Brown kids. Mr. Johnson said early on that he wanted a television station that reflected his experiences when he was growing up, where the family was sitting around the TV and everybody was able to enjoy, laugh, fellowship and bond together. What we’ve been able to do 10 years later is exactly right in line with what we said we were going to do, and in fact, even better.

MCN: The television landscape has changed significantly over the past decade. Has Aspire effectively maximized its reach across platforms in an effort to reach its target audience?

AC: We're continuing to build our distribution and our reach. Aspire right now is still ranked number one in affinity within Black lifestyle networks, and we continue to bring in audiences with above-average home ownership, income and education, so in that regard I’m happy with our position. Can we continue to expand our brand? Absolutely, which is what we’ve done with aspire TVLife, our first FAST channel, which is dedicated to cooking, fashion, travel and design. We’re really trying to make sure that we’re in those new, developing distribution pockets where we’re seeing Black audiences. I think everybody in this industry right now is looking at the rise of streaming. We're making sure that they have the content that our viewers want to watch – whether it's snackable content on their mobile phones, on our FAST channel or on linear. Whatever it may be, it is my job to make sure that Aspire is sitting where it will be most beneficial not only to us as a company but also to our viewers, our advertisers and distributors. I’m really excited about where we’re going. 

MCN: Has the industry become more accepting and inclusive of content created for and by people of color since Aspire’s launch or has it remained stagnant with regards to diversity both in front of and behind the camera?

AC: Ten years ago I think it was really more about trying to stake our claims. When the [Comcast] diversity initiatives came out, the networks that launched with Aspire TV were saying that we deserve a place on your cable lineup so that multicultural audiences can see themselves represented. With everything that’s happened over the past two years with COVID and with [the death of George Floyd], now you’re starting to see Black content in particular becoming more relevant across platforms. Is there room for more growth? Absolutely, because you still don’t see us as represented behind the cameras, and we’re still not represented enough in the executive rooms where they’re making the decisions. We’ve made some strides, but there are still some headwinds to tackle and to continue to grow. 

MCN: Where do you want to take the Aspire brand over the next year? 

AC: I think you'll see Aspire available in way more places … there are so many different things that we could do with this brand. We hear every day from our consumers that they love it and they want more. So in addition to the FAST channel that we have now, maybe we can get into other spaces like SVOD or additional offshoots. From a content perspective, we have really great partnerships, not just with our advertisers and our distribution partners but also with talent. We’ve done partnerships with chef G. Garvin to be our culinary expert, and he's going to help us build out our food network. We're also working with other celebrity leaders to do the same type of partnerships. We want to be authentic and true to our culture, and really represent us in a positive light, and showcasing all that we can do with all of our skill sets and in all of our glory. We're excited to bring that to viewers with more productions in development. We have a lot coming down the pipe, so we're excited about that. ■

One month after announcing plans to launch two Hispanic-targeted networks in 2016, Comcast Cable on Thursday said it is accepting proposals for two African-American owned and independent networks it plans to launch in January 2019.

The new channels stem from a condition Comcast agreed to in its 2011 acquisition of NBCUniversal, in which it agreed to launch eight minority-owned and operated channels. The two recently announced Hispanic-owned channels, Primo and Kids Central, will join four other networks launched in 2012 and 2013: kids-targeted BabyFirst Americas; music-themed service Revolt TV, founded by hip hop artist Sean “Diddy” Combs; African- American targeted entertainment network Aspire TV, led by NBA hall of famer Magic Johnson; and millennials-aimed El Rey Network, backed by producer and director Robert Rodriguez.

Criteria for the two new African-American owned networks include the network's content makeup and whether the network’s ownership and/or management groups are well established. The network choices could include and already launched service that may have existing or potential multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD) distribution. Comcast will accept proposals for every major genre, including general entertainment, movies, music, kids, news, and sports, according to company officials.

“We are looking forward to receiving another round of great proposals as we begin the process to launch two more African American majority owned networks,” said Justin Smith,senior vice president of Content Acquisition for Comcast Cable.

Proposals for the two networks are due by March 15, 2017, and the two networks will be selected in the coming months, according to Comcast.

This story was edited to correct the launch date in the headline.

Multicultural-themed programming is riding a wave of ratings and critical success on TV, but that rising tide isn’t lifting all boats.

From Emmy Award-winning shows like Netflix’s Orange Is the New Black and its multicultural cast, to ratings hits like Fox’s Empire, Starz’s Power and ABC’s Fresh Off the Boat and Black-ish, ethnically diverse TV content is hot. But even in such a TV climate, executives at independently owned multicultural networks said their services still struggle to gain widespread distribution.

Even with a growing base of multicultural subscribers who watch more hours of television than white viewers — along with an increase of young, multicultural millennials who are either cord-cutters or cable-nevers — distributors aren’t rushing to sign up networks that target the industry’s current and future subscribers, executives said.

“Overall, 40% of the population is multicultural, so what all that means is multicultural is now the new mainstream,” said Tonia O’Connor, chief commercial officer and president of content distribution for Univision Communications, which also handles distribution duties for four-year-old, male-targeted El Rey Network and young, Hispanic audience-targeted news service Fusion.

“It’s good business to be in this business,” O’Connor said. “Whether distributors have come to embrace it yet or not, they absolutely have to in order to continue to have any growth in the future — they can no longer ignore the multicultural consumer or opportunity.”

A HOT CATEGORY

While most television observers recognize today’s lineup of quality content from cable, broadcast and over-the-top digital services like Netflix as a new Golden Age of Television, it’s also arguably the most prolific time for multicultural programming.

This comes as the U.S. grows more diverse, and as diverse groups grow more influential determining in how and when entertainment content is delivered.

African-Americans watched more than 44 hours of live and time-shifted TV a week during fourth-quarter 2015, well above the 31-hour average for all adults, according to the recent Nielsen Total Audience Report. Hispanics nearly double all viewers in minutes spent watching video on smartphones, while Asian-Americans use multimedia devices to view television nearly a full hour more than the general public does.

Given those realities, the assumption would be that multichannel-video providers would be aggressive in launching networks aimed at the growing, highly influential multicultural audience. But network executives said some distributors have yet to recognize the value of multicultural content.

Most high-profile shows with appeal to multicultural audiences air on mainstream networks backed by major media companies, Africa Channel executive vice president of content and global operations Narendra Reddy said, adding that independently-owned multicultural channels don’t have the budget or staff to develop and market such programming. But that doesn’t mean Africa Channel’s scripted movies and reality shows originating from the continent are any less valuable or appealing to multicultural viewers, Reddy said.

He added that most favored nations language in contracts, restrictions on social-media marketing and promotion of content on the Web, and a lack of negotiating power during contract talks have hampered Africa Channel’s ability to gain distribution as an independent network.

“Even if the heads of programming for these various distributors believe that this content that we have will resonate with audiences, basically they’re forced to carry networks from the companies that have far greater leverage than we do,” Reddy said.

That doesn’t sit well with multicultural viewers who respond favorably to content targeted toward them. According to a recent Horowitz Race, Diversity and Media survey, 64% of multicultural millennials said they found television shows featuring a mainly multicultural cast appealing, compared to 44% of white viewers.

Yet beyond a few select shows, network executives say such images are rare on the current lineup of cable channels.

STILL AN UNDERSERVED AUDIENCE

“A multicultural cable subscriber today sees his or her dollar being mainstream, but the reality is when they look at what’s being offered they’re seeing that there’s just not that much there,” said Mark Walton, president of sales and marketing for One Caribbean Television. “Even though you may see an article or some conversation around all of this, from the consumer’s perspective it gets back to ‘I have 500 channels and I only have four or five that are addressing some of the interests I have.’ ”

One Caribbean Television, which offers entertainment, news and weather content from such Caribbean nations as the Bahamas, Antigua and Barbuda, Jamaica and Barbados, is currently offered on RCN with the network in distribution talks with several other operators. One Caribbean targets the nearly 10 million to 20 million African-Americans who have some connection to the Caribbean, as well as mainstream viewers who travel and have interest in the region.

“The consumer is paying X dollars but is getting X minus dollars in terms of value to them,” Walton said. “In order to breach that gap and reduce churn, you have to have the offerings that that consumer wants.”

Network executives said they recognize that MVPDs are under pressure to curb programming costs and adjust programming packages to prevent younger subscribers from churning or shifting to over-the-top subscription VOD services.

“[Distributors] might not be as confident to take risks on launching multicultural-themed channels,” Miguel Santos, general manager for Asian-American targeted network Myx TV, said. “The business environment is di_ cult — they’re seeing some churn, so it’s making a lot of MVPD executives risk-averse. They don’t really see at the moment the value of multicultural channels.”

One executive who said she does recognize the value of multicultural content is Verizon Fios executive director of content strategy and acquisition Michelle Webb. She told the Horowitz Associates Cultural Insights Forum in March that the telco is looking to balance that with finding the best ways to offer the most choice to consumers.

“It’s all about managing demand and bandwidth considerations,” she said.

Aspire TV has seen some small but noteworthy movement on the distribution front, vice president of business affairs and channel operations Melissa Ingram said. The African-American-targeted network, founded by basketball hall of famer Earvin “Magic” Johnson, has seen its subscriber rolls grow to 34 million viewers since its 2012 launch; it projects it will be in 37 million homes by year-end.

“Not only is [the multicultural] audience is requesting this type of programming but … from a business standpoint, affiliates are starting to understand the importance of having diverse content,” she said. “They’ve seen the success of shows like Empire and they’ve seen a movement by subscribers demanding such content, which is forcing these large distributors to understand the importance and value of it and to get more content like that on their systems.”

As networks continue to push for linear distribution, others are exploring the Web in an eff ort to generate interest and awareness for their brands. Networks such as Myx TV, Fuse and One Caribbean Television use apps to give viewers a chance to check out video content from the networks, as well as some live programming.

BOOSTING ONLINE REACH

“If you want to reach a younger audience, you have to be available on all of the relevant devices, and you have to have content that’s available on-demand,” Fuse Media CEO Michael Schwimmer said. “Obviously, you have to be able to balance that with the network’s role within the pay TV ecosystem, but I think that it’s all doable and important. Anybody that doesn’t have a strong digital presence does so at their own risk.”

Myx TV’s Santos believes networks targeting multicultural millennials in particular may find online distribution a more attractive way of exposing the brand to key audiences. Asian-Americans, especially, tend to watch content online on various mobile devices, so anyone looking to reach that audience would fare well in the digital space, according to Santos.

Myx TV is considering launching an OTT service in the near future, although Santos would not disclose a time frame. “OTT is possibly the key to diversifying entertainment,” he said. “Given the competitive environment and the uncertainty within the industry, it would behoove us to look at all options to really get our content out.

“In the end, the power is with the viewer, and they will decide where they want to watch their content — if they want to watch it over the top we should be there, and if they want to watch it on a linear platform we should be there, too.”