TV One sister network Cleo TV has secured rights to episodes from the YouTube digital series Tia Mowry’s Quick Fix, according to network officials.

Cleo TV will air 80 episodes from the series -- which was originally launched in 2017 from lifestyle entertainment company Kin -- beginning in October. Tia Mowry’s Quick Fix helps viewers solve little dilemmas from quick ideas for a weeknight meal to beauty tips, said the network. 

The series, hosted by actress Tia Mowry (Sister, Sister Netflix’s Family Reunion), has accumulated more than 280 million views on social media. 

“Our network prides itself on offering diverse, trendsetting and inspirational content,” said Cleo TV and TV One president Michelle Rice in a statement. “We look forward to building an outstanding partnership with Tia and Kin and are thrilled to introduce Quick Fix to our audience.”

Added Kin CEO Michael Wayne: “We’re thrilled to bring Tia Mowry’s Quick Fix to Cleo TV.  Through a collaborative effort with Tia, the Kin team has built Tia Mowry’s Quick Fix into a franchise that has appealed to millions of viewers across social platforms.”

Read Also: TV One Pushes the Power of Representation

As TV One parent Urban One celebrates its 40th anniversary in media,
the network continues to serve the African-American community through original innovative programming and social-justice initiatives. 

While TV One celebrates black culture throughout the year, its “Represent the Movement” initiative for Black History Month features interstitial programming revolving around four female activists — Zyahna Bryant, Brea Baker, Nupol Kiazolu and Kenidra Woods — who discuss important causes such as women’s rights, criminal justice reform, freedom of speech, LGBTQ rights, racism, immigration and gun control.

On the scripted front, TV One on Feb. 28 will debut the original movie Don’t Waste Your Pretty, based on the novel of the same name penned by author and media personality Demetria L. Lucas and starring Keri Hilson (Think Like a Man, Almost Christmas).

TV One and Cleo TV president Michelle Rice recently spoke to Multichannel
News about the increased interest and appeal of African-American themed content across multiple platforms and the network’s role in continuing to foster inclusiveness and diversity both in front of and behind the camera. 

MCN: What do you see as the reasons behind the explosion of African-American images and storylines on the small screen in recent years?

Michelle Rice: I can only give you my perspective, and certainly after the death of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement, I think that consumers are demanding it. Consumers are very discerning when they look at brands and they want their brands to represent the communities in which they serve, and I think that companies are starting to understand that. 

After the George Floyd incident, which really roused the consciousness of the country, you saw a lot of companies — big retailers, like Target, for example — saying that they were going to put money into [the African-American] community and give us more shelf space in their stores. I look at cable companies the same way. They are giving us more shelf space in their stores, because the communities that support these businesses are demanding it. 

Black people and people of color have always been some of the best consumers of digital products and services, so we now understand that power. If you’re not going to give us equal shelf space, then we have other options and opportunities, so now we’re seeing them really investing on screen, and I’m glad to see that. I think it’s about time, but I hope it’s not just fashionable to do this because of the time that we live in. It’s just good business.

MCN: Has TV One benefited from the industry’s increased focus on diversity and inclusion? 

MR: I think that we are definitely asking people to put their money where their mouths are, and one of the ways we’re seeing companies do that is investing more ad dollars into black companies. We’ve definitely been having those conversations with a lot of our partners and those conversations have been fruitful. You see more advertisers targeting this community, and we’re definitely calling those companies out that we think can do better. We have some partners that have always supported us, and our audience has always supported us — we’ve had a great swell in viewership during the pandemic. People are looking for their voice and looking to see themselves reflected positively. 

MCN: So how do we keep this momentum going? 

MR: The reason you see quality content targeted to Black audiences on networks like TV One and BET is because it’s created by Black people telling Black stories. One of the ways to keep the momentum going is to ensure that you have a diverse team of people who are going to advocate and rally around the importance of that — hiring programming executives and making sure you have diverse executives on [company executive boards] in programming and marketing and PR, so that it is ingrained in the DNA of the company and not just a check-the-box thing. Every company should have employees that reflect the communities that they serve, and the only way that’s going to change is if we have a more diverse workforce. 

TV One has always been a place for providing opportunities to new creative voices from our early days. One of the things that we're really proud of is providing opportunities to a number of young and new black creatives not only in front of the camera, in terms of actresses and actors, but also behind the cameras — particularly to black women directors. [First-time producers] like Tasha Smith, Terri Vaughn, Tamara Bass and most recently Essence Atkins have created [content] for us, so we’re really excited about the opportunities that we’ve given to Black creatives.

Urban One has elevated Michelle Rice to the position of TV One and Cleo TV president, the company announced Tuesday.

Rice, who has served as general manager of the Black targeted TV One and millennial women of color-targeted Cleo TV, will continue full oversight of both channels, said Alfred Liggins, president and CEO of Urban One, which owns both services.

"Michelle's dynamic leadership has strengthened network partnerships, developed strategic alliances, and expanded distribution for both TV One and Cleo TV. All of which has uniquely positioned our networks to navigate the changing broadcast environment and catapult them to even greater success in the future," said Liggins.

Rice, a Multichannel News Wonder Woman, was one of TV One’s original employees. Since being named general manager in 2018, Rice has expanded the network’s existing relationship with AT&T to include the launch of Cleo TV across Direct TV, AT&T TV, and AT&T Now. She also presided over a carriage agreement with streaming service Philo TV, the network’s first virtual MVPD distribution deal, according to Urban One. Rice also spearheaded the launch of Cleo TV in 2019.

TV One's launch of African-American female millennial-targeted cable network Cleo TV earlier this year added to the industry momentum for the development of TV content created by and for multicultural audiences. 

TV One general manager Michelle Rice discusses Cleo TV as well as the growing demand for multicultural programming in a new MCN Original Videos segment. 

Cable industry veteran Michelle Rice has officially been named TV One’s general manager, overseeing the day-to-day operations of the African-American-targeted cable network.

Rice, who joined TV One at launch 14 years ago and who most recently served as executive vice president of content distribution, takes her new post as the network prepares to celebrate Black History Month with a slew of programs, including the Feb. 11 original movie, Behind the Movement, which follows civil rights icon Rosa Parks in the days before the famous 1955 Montgomery, Ala., bus boycott. Rice recently spoke to Multichannel News about the TV One brand, the challenges facing the cable industry and the #MeToo movement. An edited version of the interview appears below.

Related: 'Our Time' Has Come|Black History Month: What to Watch

MCN: How would you define the TV One brand?
Michelle Rice: TV One introduced the branding tagline of “Represent” a couple of years ago, and that’s really something that we’re going to continue to build on. It will be a common thread in pretty much everything we do at TV One in 2018. We really kick that off in a big way during Black History Month. The network will launch a new short video campaign featuring Common that will discuss a variety of black history topics and issues.

MCN: How does TV One remain competitive in a very crowded marketplace in which some general entertainment networks are beginning to aggressively reach out to African-American viewers?
MR: I started at TV One 14 years ago, and it’s always been our mission to have an authentic voice in this space, and we do that 365 days a year. We are reaching out to our core audience with our authentic voices, our diverse stories and that’s really how we got into this business.

While there’s some good [African-American-targeted] programming on other networks, it’s not their core audience. They’re kind of leveraging the black audience, which certainly they should — it’s a very powerful audience.

We’ve been saying for years that African-Americans over-index on the use of digital products and services, so they are among cable’s best customers. So the product that we see on television really should mirror our society. We’re excited to see people really telling authentic stories, but as I said, we do that 365 days a year and we believe that when you come to TV One you’re really going to learn something. Obviously, television is about entertainment, but we love to have the opportunity to tell some lesser-known stories. We’re excited about the opportunity to do that.

MCN: As a female executive heading up a cable network, what do you make of the influence of the current #MeToo and Time’s Up movements? Is this a momentary trend or one that will fundamentally change the entertainment industry?
MR: It’s an exciting time to be a woman in this country. I recently did a speech for the local [Women in Cable Telecommunications] chapter that was based on the book We Should All Be Feminists, and I said that feminism is really about everyone — both men and women. I said to the men in the room, if you have a daughter, a wife, a mother, and you seek equity in the treatment of the women in your life, then you are a feminist. I think that people look at feminism as a dirty word, but it really is the equal empowerment of women. So again, it’s an exciting time to be a woman in this country and in this business, and I think we realize that our collective voice matters. We can speak truth to power in that if we support each other, we can make real change in politics, in the industry and in the business.

Related: Michelle Rice Named to MCN Wonder Women Class of 2016

MCN: What are the biggest challenges for the industry right now and for networks like TV One?
MR: Well, my background is distribution, and that is the biggest challenge. For every launch and subscriber we gain, we probably churn a hundred. So it’s a challenge in terms of the TV everywhere movement. It is a challenge when I look at how my children are consuming content; will they ever grow up to be cable customers? I don’t know. So the challenge for us is really to make sure that we are meeting consumers where they are, and that we are competitive in terms of the quality of content and where content is available. There are always rights issues and things of that nature, so we just need to be in better partnership with our distributors. We need to make sure that we are providing the best product, the best programming and the best service for our viewers, and that means communicating with them through social media and various platforms, understanding what their needs and desires are, and meeting them where they are.

TV One president Brad Siegel is leaving the African-American targeted network, TV One officials said Tuesday.

Michelle Rice, the network’s executive vice president of content distribution and marketing, will serve as interim general manager with full management oversight of the 13-year old network effective immediately.

READ MORE:Upfronts 2016 -- TV One's Siegel Calls 'Empire' Acquisition a Game Changer

Siegel, who joined TV One as its president in 2014, announced his resignation to TV One’s leadership earlier in the day. “Brad has made many valuable contributions to the network during his tenure and we’re grateful for his work ethic, creativity, professionalism and support of our mission to inform, inspire and entertain the black community,” said TV One parent company Urban One CEO Alfred Liggins in a statement. "He’s also an all-around good guy and we wish him well in his future endeavors.”

Rice has been with the network since its launch and has held numerous executive positions within the company. She was a MCN Wonder Woman in 2016. “Michelle is business savvy, understands our demographic and has the energy, vision and discipline to position TV One for the future," Liggins said. "She has the respect of our industry and I believe in her ability to provide leadership for our network during this time of intense competition, increased platform availability and growing content targeting the black viewer."

MICHELLE RICE

TITLE: Executive VP, Content Distribution and Marketing, TV One

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: Led TV One from 18 million subscribers to nearly 60 million. Launched TV One High Def in 2009 in 15 million households. Graduate of WICT Betsy Magness Leadership Institute.

QUOTE: “Women always think that they need to know everything before they get to the next level. If you take a job and day one you know everything, it’s not the right job. You should always be challenging yourself.’’

— Michelle Rice

Michelle Rice grew up knowing she wanted to be in TV news. When she graduated from Temple University with a journalism degree, she got her wish — and hated it.

Working in the “news pit” of a local television station, she was stressed and poorly paid. Nobody seemed to have a life outside of work. The news director was 30 years old with an ulcer. One day, Rice spotted a cheerful-looking man in a sharp suit walking through the newsroom en route to his own office. “He looks like he’s making good money, he’s happy,” Rice recalled. “I said, ‘What does he do?’”

He was the sales manager, and that was the day Rice decided to go over to the business side. On top of that, one of her college professors told her to check out “that new thing” called cable. 

It was a good tip: today Rice is the executive vice president of content distribution and marketing for African-American-targeted TV One, the chair of the National Association for Multi-Ethnicity in Communications, and an executive board member of Women in Cable Telecommunications.

BUILDING A POWERHOUSE

Not only did she help build TV One’s distribution from 18 million homes on two cable providers to nearly 60 million subscribers, but she has now successfully completed a second round of distribution agreements for the 12-year-old network.

“I’m very proud of that,” Rice said. “Initially people said, ‘Hey we really want you guys to be successful, we believe in the mission, we’re going to help you get off to a good start.’ Round two, people are worried about their margins and we have to prove that we’ve done the things we said we were going to do.”

Although BET, with 90 million subscribers, still outpaces TV One, African-American viewers want choice, Rice said. “We are not a monolithic group of people. We want different experiences, we have a lot of interests,” she said. “There can be more than one or two networks targeting the audience. We’ve done it with class and with quality and I think we’ve proved we belong on cable networks. 

Rice entered the cable industry armed with a master’s degree in communications management from the University of Southern California and a Walter Kaitz Foundation fellowship. She started as a manager of special markets for BET, then went to NBC Cable Networks as director of affiliate sales/special markets. There, she was responsible for distribution of CNBC, MSNBC and ShopNBC (now Evine Live) to accounts including satellite-TV providers DirecTV and Dish Network.

Back then, Rice said, “Nobody thought this little pizza piesized dish was going to mean anything. They said, ‘Hey give the new girl that stuff.’”

After five years at NBC, Rice hopped to pay-per-view packager In Demand to “get my VP stripes.” In 2004, her husband got a job in Washington, D.C. The couple had an agreement that it was his turn to move the family for his career, so Rice prepared to move. Then he handed her a newspaper story on Comcast’s decision to launch TV One. That was all it took.

“I love the mission of the network,” Rice said. “I remember growing up in the Cosby Show generation. … I was excited to see my experience on the screen. I was so excited to be a part of TV One because it has definitely shown African-Americans in a very diverse way, with all our interests and our culture, and the representation is high quality. What I love is that I feel I’ve been a part of that mission and breaking down those stereo types about the audience.”

WATCHING OUT FOR CABLE’S DIVERSITY

At NAMIC, Rice’s focus is on preserving diversity in the cable industry in the wake of job cuts due to merger-related consolidations. The major cable systems are already on notice, she said. “They take it very seriously and they are really looking at how this issue of consolidation is affecting their diversity numbers,” Rice said. After meeting with organizations including NAMIC and the Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network, Charter Communications said on Jan. 15 that it had promised to ensure diversity in its boardroom if its merger with Time Warner Cable is approved by the FCC.

“I do think NAMIC is going to have a very big job ahead to make sure that as our numbers decline we are supporting folks getting back to work … and making sure that the industry stays accountable for being diverse,” Rice said. “I think it’s going to be a big issue. But I feel people are talking about it.”

In July, Rice was named to the executive committee of Women in Cable Telecommunications, where she has served on the board since 2012.

“She’s bubbly, she’s inclusive, she’s kind; I think she’s gentle in one-on-one conversations, but certainly holds her own when there’s a business topic being addressed,” said Martha Soehren, chair of WICT and chief talent development officer at Comcast. “People at our levels need to know when to step back and not show up like you’re leading the board discussion” and when to bring the fi repower. “She can do both of those.”

Rice and her husband, a consultant for Booz Allen, are the parents of a 16-year-old daughter and a 12-year-old son — so her rare free time is spent “relaxing,” reading, attending her kids’ sports events and working with community organizations including the Northern Virginia Urban League, where she is on the board of directors. Part of the reason she’s so busy is that she still has plenty of goals to achieve: she wants to launch a new business for TV One. Not to mention write a book, travel with her kids and start a nonprofit to help homeless women.

“I definitely see myself starting something on my own and really focusing on helping women get out of shelters and get back to work,” she said. “That’s my passion.”