Aspire 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-based television services, usually provided by multichannel television providers, b ...
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 primar ...
, Comcast Corporation committed to carry several minority-owned channels.
The arrangement followed pressure led by
Maxine Waters
Maxine Moore Waters (née Carr; born August 15, 1938) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 1991. The district, numbered as the 29th district from 1991 to 1993 and as the 35th district from 1993 to 2013, inc ...
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 are being chosen from among an excess of 100 proposals to begin airing by 2020.
Aspire also 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 in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...
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. ...
.
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 ...
– American basic cable and satellite channel currently owned by
Paramount, 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.
*
TheGrio
TheGrio, styled as thegrio, is an American television network and website with news, opinion, entertainment and video content geared toward Black Americans.
The website originally launched in June 2009 as a division of NBC News, it became a di ...
– 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
Urban One, Inc. (formerly Radio One) is a Silver Spring, Maryland-based American media conglomerate. Founded in 1980 by Cathy Hughes, the company primarily operates media properties targeting African Americans. It is the largest African-American- ...
.
**
Cleo TV – 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