Monday, December 11, 2017

TV One Suspends Production of ‘NewsOne Now’

TV One, a cable network focused on African-American audiences, said it would suspend production of “NewsOne Now,” its daily morning news program anchored by host Roland S. Martin. The final live show is slated for Thursday, December 21.

The show, first conceived by TV One CEO Alfred Liggins, debuted in 2013, with a mission of offering a daily voice to African-Americans interested in important political and social issues.

“Providing a platform for Black voices is in the DNA of our entire company,” said Liggins, in a statement “We know there is a void in mainstream media and we plan to continue to be an outlet for Black news. Roland Martin will be a part of that plan.”

The program “struggled to attract a wide audience,” said Michelle L. Rice, the interim general manager of TV One, in a statement.”Like any other network, we had to make a difficult choice.” TV One began making adjustments to the show in recent weeks, but the show “did not gain traction with advertisers and viewers,” the network said. TV One intends to “restructure ‘NewsOne Now’ in 2018 under a new format that will better serve its audience and advertisers.” Some staff cuts took place as a result of the decision, the network said.

Martin is expected to stay on with TV One parent Urban One. “I am undoubtedly saddened by ‘NewsOne Now’ ending daily production,” said Martin, in a statement. “We set out to give America, specifically Black America, a show that spoke to our issues, concerns and unique perspective. And we did just that.”

[SOURCE: VARIETY]

No comments: