Aspire TV is an American
pay television
Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to Subscription business model, subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichan ...
channel targeting
African Americans
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
. The network was launched by
Magic Johnson
Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. (born August 14, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player. He is often regarded as the greatest point guard of all-time and has been compared with Stephen Curry. Johnson played 13 seasons in the ...
on June 27, 2012.
History
As part of its arrangement to acquire a minority interest in
NBCUniversal
NBCUniversal Media, LLC is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate corporation owned by Comcast and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States.
NBCUniversal is primari ...
, Comcast Corporation committed to carry several minority-owned channels.
The arrangement followed pressure led by
Maxine Waters in congressional hearings.
In April 2011, Comcast solicited proposals for minority-owned networks.
In February 2012, Comcast announced distribution arrangements for four networks, including Aspire.
The four announced networks and six forthcoming stations were chosen from among an excess of 100 proposals to begin airing by 2020.
Programming
Aspire TV holds the broadcast rights to a selection of CIAA
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
games involving
historically black colleges and universities
Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. ...
.
Current
*''6 Minutes To Glory: The HBCU Band Experience''
*''
The Bernie Mac Show
''The Bernie Mac Show'' (often shortened to ''Bernie Mac'' in syndication) is an American sitcom television series created by Larry Wilmore, that aired on Fox for five seasons from November 14, 2001 to April 14, 2006. The series featured Bernie ...
''
*''Chaos to Calm''
*''City Eats: Atlanta''
*''Downright Delicious with Yo-Yo''
*''G. Garvin Live''
*''HBCU 101''
*''Keasha's Perfect Dress''
*''Money Moves''
*''
My Wife and Kids
''My Wife and Kids'' is an American sitcom that ran on ABC from March 28, 2001, to May 17, 2005. The series was produced by Touchstone Television. It starred Damon Wayans as Michael Kyle, the patriarch of an African-American family. Wayans and ve ...
''
*''
The Steve Harvey Show''
*''Twisted Dish''
*''Unboxed with Nikki Chu''
*''Urban Indie Film Block''
*''
Whose Line Is It Anyway?''
Former
*''Black College Quiz''
*''
The Bill Cosby Show''
*''Butter+Brown''
*''
The Flip Wilson Show''
*''The Graduates ATL''
*''
The Hughleys''
*''
In Living Color''
*''
In the House''
*''
I Spy
I spy is a guessing game where one player (the ''spy'' or ''it'') chooses an object within sight and announces to the other players that "I spy with my little eye something beginning with...", naming the first letter of the object. Other players a ...
''
*''
Julia''
*''Just Angela''
*''
Lincoln Heights''
*''
The Mod Squad
''The Mod Squad'' is an American crime drama series, originally broadcast for five seasons on ABC from September 24, 1968, to March 1, 1973. It starred Michael Cole as Peter "Pete" Cochran, Peggy Lipton as Julie Barnes, Clarence Williams III as ...
''
*''
Room 222''
*''Side by Side With Malika & Khadijah''
*''
Soul Food
Soul food is an ethnic cuisine traditionally prepared and eaten by African Americans, originating in the Southern United States.Soul Food originated with the foods that were given to enslaved Black people by their white owners on Souther ...
''
*''
Soul Train
''Soul Train'' is an American musical variety television show. It aired in syndication from October 2, 1971, to March 25, 2006. Across its 35-year history the show primarily featured performances by R&B, soul, and hip hop artists. The series w ...
''
*''World Wide Nate: African Adventures''
See also
*
BET
Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los A ...
– American basic cable and satellite channel currently owned by
Paramount
Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to:
Entertainment and music companies
* Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...
, which launched in 1980 as the first television network devoted to programming targeting African-Americans.
**
BET Her
BET Her (formerly Centric) is an American basic cable television network owned by Paramount Media Networks. The network is a spin-off of BET with a focus on general entertainment targeting African-American women.
The channel originally launched ...
– spinoff/sister network targeting African-American women.
*
Bounce TV
Bounce TV is an American digital multicast television network owned by Katz Broadcasting, a subsidiary of E. W. Scripps Company. Promoted as "the first 24/7 digital multicast broadcast network created to target African Americans", the channel fe ...
– American digital multicast network owned by
E. W. Scripps Company
The E. W. Scripps Company is an American broadcasting company founded in 1878 as a chain of daily newspapers by Edward Willis "E. W." Scripps and his sister, Ellen Browning Scripps. It was also formerly a media conglomerate. The company is he ...
.
*
TheGrio – American digital multicast/cable network owned by
Allen Media Group
Entertainment Studios, Inc., also known as Allen Media Group, is an American media and entertainment company based in Los Angeles. Owned and founded in 1993 by businessman Byron Allen, the company was initially involved in the production and d ...
*
TV One – Cable and satellite network targeting African-Americans, owned by
Urban One.
**
Cleo TV
Cleo TV (stylized as CLEOTV) is an American cable television network owned by Urban One. The network serves young millennial and Generation X African American women, and serves as a complement to TV One. The network officially launched on Janua ...
– Spinoff/sister network targeting African-American women.
Notes
{{Reflist
Television channels and stations established in 2012
Television networks in the United States
English-language television stations in the United States
African-American television
African-American television networks
Magic Johnson