After years of public debate and protest about the lack of representation in media and entertainment, Black News Channel (BNC), the first cable news network catering to people of color, is ending operations just two years into its life cycle. Princell Hair, President and CEO of BNC, made the announcement via an employee memo distributed on Friday.
The memo attributed the shutdown to a number of reasons, including the lack of support in viewership.
“Due to challenging market conditions and global financial pressures, we have been unable to meet our financial goals, and the timeline afforded to us has run out,” the memo reads. “Remember that we built something great here. BNC, or something very close to it, will surely return at some point, because the world needs it, and all of you have proven it can be done.”
In turn, the channel will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The network reports liabilities in the range of $10-50 million. Live production will also cease immediately, laying off roughly 230 employees.
“During the past few months, we have endured very painful workforce reductions at all levels of the network as we worked to achieve our financial goal of a break-even business,” Hair lamented in the memo. “This has forced all of you to do more with less, and your contributions have been remarkable.”
At one time, the channel claimed that it was the fastest growing cable news network, establishing a reach to over 50 million households. Exceptional talent was featured on the network, including New York Times columnist Charles Blow, author Marc Lamont Hill, political activist Aisha Mills, one-time sports commentator Mike Hill, host Sharon Reed, and attorney Yodit Tewolde.
However, viewership did not equate to the number of households that subscribe to BNC. On average, the Tallahassee-based network averaged a reported 4,000 viewers per program in 2021. Not too long ago, BNC experienced a spike in viewership as the channel aired the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown.
BNC was co-founded by U.S. Representative J.C. Watts and former CEO Bob Brilliante. Among various investors, Jacksonville Jaguars owner and billionaire Shahid Khan was the primary investor of the channel.
