The very first broadcast television network devoted to the African-American population of the US is going to debut on Monday 9/26/11 with a broadcast of Michael Jackson and Diana Ross starring in “The Wiz” – and before it eases on down that road, it’s easing onto the internet.
In anticipation of its birthday, Bounce is opening both a new website.presence on Facebook, and a presence on Twitter. The relevant addresses are www.bouncetv.com, Facebook.com/bouncetv and Twitter.com/bounce_tv.
Several major television group owners have made the debut possible by offering the new network space on digital side channels from which to broadcast. Bounce says it’s ready to open in Chicago, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Houston, Cleveland/Akron, San Francisco, Milwaukee, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Hartford/New Haven, Norfolk, Dayton, West Palm Beach, Birmingham, Memphis, Louisville, Richmond, VA and other cities. And more are expected to join up before year’s end.
Martin Luther King III, one of the network’s founders, said, “”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. That’s what makes this even more exciting to me as we embark on this new endeavor of an independently owned and operated broadcast television network featuring African Americans.”
“I am proud that our network will deliver free programming exclusively for our under-served community and be accessible to all homes around the country and not just those who pay for television. We look forward to Bounce TV entertaining African American viewers, and all viewers frankly, for many years to come,” added former Ambassador Andrew Young, another co-founder.
RBR-TVBR observation: Bounce is one of the strongest arguments out there for making sure broadcasters keep their full swathe of spectrum. Cram them too close together, and their ability to exploit the digital capacity they spent so much money on will be lost, including programming such as this that is a perfect example of serving the three pillars of FCC policy – localism, competition and diversity.
* Localism: Bounce brings niche programming to specific markets where that niche has a significant population, enriching program options.
* Competition: It follows that existing cable channels have to improve to make sure they hang on to their share of the market.
* Diversity: Programming is brought to an underserved niche via new technology.
Station repacking which leads to channel sharing would rob the sharers of the ability to do something like provide a home for Bounce. Therefore, it is important to preserve broadcasters’ spectrum rights, to preserve their ability to provide this and other innovative consumer options.
