Black News Channel reloads with talk focus

BNC now available to 52 million on TV, 180 million on web

Four hours of morning television is a lot of time to fill, but new Black News Channel hosts Mike Hill and Sharon Reed don’t expect to run out of things to say.

Their new program, which debuted Monday, is the centerpiece of Black News Channel’s relaunch to emphasize commentary and a more analytical approach to the news. Nearly invisible when it debuted last year, BNC is methodically becoming more available to viewers.

“This is when I need my voice to be heard and I want my voice to be heard,” said Hill, who has worked at Fox Sports and ESPN. “So much is happening in our country.”

His co-host on “Start Your Day with Sharon and Mike“has anchored the news at CBS’ Atlanta affiliate for the past five years and been a reporter in New York, Miami, Philadelphia, St. Louis and Cleveland.

Founded by former GOP congressman J.C. Watts, BNC has been run on a day-by-day basis since last summer by veteran television executive Princell Hair, who has worked at CNN, Comcast and NBC Sports.

BNC was available in only 2.5 million homes via cable or satellite when it started, and is now up to 52 million, or a little more than half of those available, Hair said. It started with access to 50 million Internetconnected devices and is now up to 180 million.

For the most part, BNC has aired straight newscasts, but surveys revealed a desire for more depth.

“We’re going to be presenting the news of the day, but we’re going to present it with more context and more perspective,” he said.

BNC says it will soon be featuring programming with Charles Blow, columnist at The New York Times; Marc Lamont Hill, a Temple University professor, book store owner, author and commentator; Adrienne Lawrence, a former legal analyst and anchor at ESPN; and Yodit Tewolde, a lawyer and Court TV host.

Emphasizing talk over newsgathering is often a way to save money. But Hair said BNC is adding correspondents, and will have two in New York and Washington and others stationed in Atlanta, Philadelphia, Chicago and Los Angeles with more on the way.

BNC is covering how COVID is affecting the Black community and closely following the start of President Joe Biden’s administration, Hair said. The reporters frequently break stories missed by mainstream outlets, such as the current lack of pharmacies in Black neighborhoods in Chicago, he said.

“The attractive thing to me is telling the full story of our community, and being allowed to do that,” Reed said. There are plenty of painful stories about social justice that need to be told, but “at the end of the day — news flash — Black people are about excellence, too,” she said.

Hill said he’s looking forward to bosses who don’t just want him to “stick to sports.”