Commentary by Gary A. Johnson
Last week it was announced that rap impresario Percy Miller aka “Master P” is planning to launch a new cable network called Better Black Television (BBTV). Miller says the new network will be “family-friendly” with “positive subject matter.”
Now before you say, “Master P…?” This appears to be a new and improved Master P and this new network may just work.
Off all the Hip-Hop and Rap moguls, Percy Miller is probably the most self-made. As the Founder and CEO of No Limit Entertainment, Miller earned his fortune selling tapes of his music out of the trunk of his car to running a business conglomerate in the areas of music, film, TV, fashion, books and sports management. Miller has earned 5 Grammy awards and sold over 75 million records. He may be worth more than P-Diddy who has a higher public profile.
Let’s think about this. BET has sunk so far off the radar that it won’t take much to improve programming on the Black cable landscape. All Master P and company have to do is dust off the original BET blueprint and BBTV can be what BET was supposed to be.
A few months ago it was announced that a black news network spearheaded by former Congressman J. C. Watts, Jr., was coming our way in 2009. The Black Television News Channel (BTNC), would be the nation’s only African-American news network. The firm announced a multi-year carriage agreement with Comcast, the country’s leading provider of cable, entertainment and communications products and services.
Make no mistake; there is a need for quality “black interest” programming. The programming on the forthcoming Master P led BBTV will be diverse and contain programs about health and fitness, animation, financial planning, reality TV, sitcoms, dramas, movies, responsible hip-hop music and videos, politics, sports and entertainment news, educational children’s shows as well as teen and family shows. In addition, BBTV is in the process of purchasing local cable channel affiliates across the country.
Miller seems to have done his homework and has surrounded himself with some very solid consultants which makes him the smartest guy in the boardroom—because he knows where all the smart people are located.
“Better Black Television has been a vision of mine for some years,” said Miller. I’ve done a lot to promote and change the way messages are relayed to our children and our families over the last few years. Promoting positive content and positive messages is so important to educate and preserve the next generation. Being exposed to positive content is what changed my life. I believe that there is a market in our community for a new diverse network that provides a new brand of superior programming that caters to all aspects of television from reality to original programming. In addition, I’m excited to be able to expose the urban community to a vast array of jobs in the entertainment community that they might not otherwise be privy to. I have a great relationship with BET and MTV and my son and I will continue to do work with them and support their networks. With BBTV, we’re spearheading the initiative to meet consumer demand for family friendly hip-hop content.”
The BBTV Advisory Board members consist of some of the most significant entertainers in the entertainment and sports industries including Denzel Washington and Will Smith.
The Better Black Television mission statement reads as follows:
Better Black Television (BBTV) is committed to being a leading African-American multimedia entertainment company by establishing a distinct, valued, trusted, and socially responsible consumer brand within the African-American and multi-ethnic, English-speaking marketplace. We plan to accomplish this mission by delivering quality, family oriented entertainment and information to the quickly growing urban consumer base of our target audience through the use of television and Internet resources.
For more information visit the network’s web site at www.BETTERBLACKTV.com.
What do you think? Can Master P deliver on his promise of providing a quality television network that serves the needs of the black community?
Gary Johnson is the Founder & Publisher of Black Men In America.com a popular online magazine on the Internet and the Black Men In America.com Blog. Gary is also the author of the new book “25 Things That Really Matter In Life.”
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