*Media mogul Byron Allen’s Entertainment Studios Networks Inc. “is officially the successful bidder for Black News Channel, setting it up to be the future home for the network,” Sara Winegardner reported for Cablefax.
Earlier this year it was reported that the network shut down after Shad Khan (the owner of the NFL Jacksonville Jaguars) did not want to continue investing in the news outlet. BNC’s staff of 230 — a vast majority of whom are people of color — were let go and according to reports, may did not receive their final paychecks.
The network ceased operations on March 25, shortly after celebrating its two-year anniversary in February, per Journal-isms. Nielsen data showed that the news outlet had an average audience size of fewer than 10,000 viewers despite a reach of 50 million satellite and cable households.
Allen reportedly submitted an $11 million bid to buy the network’s assets in a bankruptcy auction.
Per Winegardner’s report, as noted by Journalisms, “The bidding deadline for the $11 million in assets . . . set by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Florida was July 11 at 5pm ET. The court received no qualified bids during the period outside of the one already received from ESN. With that, it canceled the auction previously scheduled for Tuesday and is moving ahead with actions to officially approve the buy.”
Per Winegardner, “ESN did have some competition for the network with Ebony Studios,” launched by the current owners of Ebony magazine, “also actively pursuing a purchase of the assets, but the latter wasn’t able to finalize an agreement before its limited exclusivity period expired on June 3.”
She continued, “Allen said the advertising community also failed to give Black News Channel the love it needed to maintain or grow its operations. Looking at non-direct response advertising, he said ad dollars were less than $2 million for an entire year. His goal now is to reinvest in and reposition the Black News Channel in order to get it the support he believes it deserved the first time around.”
Per the report, Allen told Cablefax that the cable industry “dropped the ball” when it came to BNC.
“It’s a bad mark on us as a country that the Black News Channel didn’t get enough support, to have diversity in ownership, diversity in voices and diversity of viewpoints,” he said. “Alright cable industry, you’ve got one more chance at that. Alright ad community, you’ve got one more chance at that. So we’re going to work closely with folks to let them show the world who they really are.”
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