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Country | United States |
---|---|
Broadcast area | Nationwide |
Headquarters | Silver Spring, Maryland |
Programming | |
Language(s) | English |
Picture format | HDTV 1080i (downscaled to letterboxed 480i for the SDTV feed) |
Ownership | |
Owner | Urban One[1][2] |
Sister channels | Cleo TV |
History | |
Launched | January 19, 2004[3] |
Links | |
Website | tvone |
TV One is an American basic cable television channel targeting African American adults. It is owned by Urban One, and headquartered in Silver Spring, Maryland. Originally launched as a joint venture with Comcast, Urban One would acquire the former's stake in 2015.
As of November 2023[update], TV One is available to approximately 43,000,000 pay television households in the United States-down from its 2016 peak of 60,000,000 households.[4] The channel is also an associate member of the Caribbean Cable & Telecommunications Association, Inc. (CCTA)[5]
In January 2003, Radio One and Comcast announced an agreement to a joint venture to create a television network aimed at African Americans aged 25 to 54.[6] TV One would launch on January 19, 2004, on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and was positioned as an older-skewing competitor to BET.[7] At the time of its launch, the channel was in approximately 2.2 million homes in 16 markets.[7][8] Initially launched in 2.2 million households, TV One's coverage would increase to 42.2 million homes by the end of 2007.[7]
On July 7, 2008, the channel's president and CEO Johnathan Rodgers announced that TV One would provide extensive coverage of the Democratic National Convention that August.[9]
In 2011, TV One's original co-owner Comcast acquired NBCUniversal, effectively integrating TV One and the other Comcast Entertainment Group channels into NBCUniversal's portfolio. Radio One's ownership stake in TV One would then grow from 36.8% to 50.8%.[10]
In August 2012, TV One updated its on-air look and logo, as part of a plan to "tell stories about how African-American life unfolds and to distinguish it from a growing number of competitors."[11] By this point, TV One had reached 57.4 million homes.
On July 9, 2013, TV One announced that it would debut its first live one-hour, weekday morning news program that would be hosted by commentator Roland S. Martin.[12] The program, News One Now, premiered on November 4, 2013.[13]
In December 2014, Brad Siegel was hired as president of TV One. Siegel was formerly president of Turner Entertainment Networks, and vice chairman of Up TV, which he co-founded in 2004.[14][15]
In March 2015, Radio One announced a deal to buy out Comcast's 47.9% share of TV One for $550 million.[16]
In February 2016, TV One updated their logo again, along with a new slogan: "Represent."[citation needed]
Main article: List of programs broadcast by TV One |
As of 2024, TV One's current original programming includes true crime shows (such as Fatal Attraction and ATL Homicide), documentaries (including Unsung, the network's longest-running series), scripted films, and award show telecasts.[17] The network previously produced reality shows, talk shows, and sitcoms.
TV One's main programming consists of reruns of popular Black sitcoms from the 1970s through the 2000s.[18]