Byron Allen announces launch of TheGrio.TV, to premiere MLK weekend
TheGrio.TV, debuting Jan. 15, 'is especially important to me,' says Allen, 'as it will both serve and uplift all viewers.'
TheGrio.TV is set to enter 100 million households next month, debuting on Martin Luther King Day weekend.
On Friday, Jan. 15, Byron Allen is transitioning his newly-acquired MGM over-the-air broadcast network Light TV, rebranding it into a channel focused on African American-featured content. Look for your local listing here. You’ll need a digital antenna to receive the channel.
With the slogan, “Our Culture Forever,” TheGrio.TV will bring movies, sitcoms, dramas, concerts, talk shows, variety shows, game shows, news and lifestyle content into homes via over-the-air broadcast television stations, cable/telco/satellite platforms and free digital streaming.
This website, TheGrio.com, was once owned by NBCUniversal. Allen, the founder, chairman and CEO of Allen Media Group, acquired the site in 2016 and grew it from less than 1 million active users to a peak this summer of over 10.5 million monthly active users.
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“The Grio, which means ‘storyteller’ in Africa, is the first platform to offer an online digital news destination, a free streaming app providing local news, weather, sports, traffic and entertainment content geofenced to the user’s zip code, and an over-the-air broadcast television network,” said Allen.
“TheGrio.TV is especially important to me, as it will both serve and uplift all viewers,” he continued. “TheGrio.TV is the first and only 100-percent African American-owned and targeted broadcast television network and free digital platform – making us truly authentic, without being filtered or controlled by others outside of the community.”
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Allen Media Group has invested over $1 billion in acquiring media assets over the past two years, including The Weather Channel and 16 broadcast affiliate TV networks across America, a mix of ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC stations. In addition, the 10 24-hour HDTV networks under its umbrella serve nearly 180 million subscribers.
Reports indicate that’s just the beginning: Allen intends to invest $10 billion more for the next two years buying other major media assets.
Have you subscribed to theGrio’s “Dear Culture” podcast? Download our newest episodes now!
TheGrio is now on Apple TV, Amazon Fire and Roku. Download theGrio.com today!
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