TheGrio
television network | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | United States |
| Headquarters | Beverly Hills, California, U.S. |
| Programming | |
| Picture format | 1080i master feed (cable and satellite distribution), reduced to 480i SDTV for most over-the-air affiliates |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Allen Media Group |
| History | |
| Launched | December 22, 2016 |
| Founder | |
| Replaced | Black News Channel (after network purchase and merger into TheGrio TV) This TV (after shutdown and merger into TheGrio TV) |
| Closed | January 1, 2025 (OTA only) |
| Former names | Light TV (2016–2021) |
| Links | |
| Website | thegrio thegriotv |
TheGrio is a brand name owned by American media company
History
TheGrio is to "focus on news and events that have a unique interest and pronounced impact within the national African Americans audience,"[2] offering what co-founder and Executive Editor David Wilson feels is "underrepresented in existing national news outlets".
The website's name is derived from the word griot, the term for a West African oral historian and storyteller.[3]
The website originally launched in June 2009 as a division of
The TV channel was founded as Light TV in 2016 by reality television producer Mark Burnett and his wife, actress Roma Downey, as an inspirational network as part of his chairmanship of MGM Television, which operated the network. It was sold to Entertainment Studios in late 2020, and relaunched as TheGrio TV in January 2021, with a Black-specific programming focus.
After Entertainment Studios purchased the assets of the bankrupt Black News Channel in late July 2022, that network was merged into TheGrio TV on August 1, including the former's existing cable, satellite and advertiser supported on-demand streaming carriage. Allen claimed to want to add more news and commentary to TheGrio TV's schedule.[8] However, the promised content was never really delivered on its own, and consisted mainly of already existing interviews from other AEG shows and archived BNC content. By the 2024 presidential election, news programming had been reduced to the contractual minimum within the BNC contract.
Television network
Light TV and
That same day, Light TV's satellite transponder space was taken over by Entertainment Studios, which stopped carrying programming in the interim and instead transmitted a test pattern promoting the launch of TheGrio (later a looping launch promo), while MGM continued to carry a stream of Light TV through the network's website. Fox Television Stations confirmed its stations would be a part of TheGrio's charter launch group, and much of its affiliate body transferred over through the month-long dark period, though some stations departed for other networks.[11] The network officially relaunched as TheGrio on January 15, 2021, that year's Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and that same day MGM handed over the domain of Light TV to Entertainment Studios, ending the stream of Light TV.
On January 1, 2025, at 5 am
Programming
From 2016 until 2021, TheGrio TV (as Light TV) featured several series and movies meant to fit the network's family-oriented approach, including content from the MGM film and TV library or acquired through outside sources.[12][13] Infomercials were added to the Light TV lineup in 2019, occupying all of the overnight hours and into the early morning.
Light TV (2015–2020)
The then-new over-the-top (OTT) faith-based channel was under development as early as September 2014 when MGM purchased 55% of One Three Media and LightWorkers Media, owned by Hearst Entertainment, Mark Burnett and Roma Downey, and consolidated them into United Artists Media Group.[14] With MGM purchasing Hearst and Burnett and Downey's shares in UAMG, the channel was still a planned streaming service. However, Hearst and Burnett and Downey retained their stakes in the channel.[15]
MGM announced the formation of Light TV on December 15, 2015, with a launch planned for December on thirteen major market stations owned by Fox Television Stations.[16] The network launched on January 20, 2016[17] with two stations, and the rest of the group's stations.
The network was intended to carry new and original content from LightWorkers as part of Burnett's chairmanship of MGM's television division, but never ended up carrying any new content, only featuring rerun and library content already seen on MGM's
Current programming
Below is a current list of programming broadcast on TheGrio:[19]
- America's Court with Judge Ross (November 1, 2021)
- Animal Rescue
- Comics Unleashed (November 1, 2021)
- Equal Justice with Judge Eboni K. Williams
- Funny You Should Ask
- HBCU GO sports – coverage of college athletics at historically black colleges and universities, especially college football and the bands of those teams
- Justice for All with Judge Christina Perez
- Justice with Judge Mablean (November 1, 2021)
- Masters of the Game
- Supreme Justice with Judge Karen Mills (November 1, 2021)
- The Verdict with Judge Hatchett (November 1, 2021)
- We the People with Judge Lauren Lake
- Wild Times at the San Diego Zoo
Former programming
- The First Family[20]
- Jeremiah
- Mr. Box Office[20]
- TheGrio News with Eboni K. Williams
- TheGrio News with Marc Lamont Hill
Light TV
- The Adventures of Paddington Bear (2016–2019)
- All Dogs Go to Heaven: The Series (December 22, 2016 – September 29, 2019)
- Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?[16] (2016–2019, 2020–January 14, 2021)
- The Busy World of Richard Scarry (December 22, 2016 – October 2, 2020)
- The Country Mouse and the City Mouse Adventures (December 22, 2016 – October 2, 2020)
- Flipper
- Flipper – The New Adventures
- Franny's Feet (2017–September 30, 2019)
- Green Acres (2016–2018; October 1, 2019 – January 14, 2021)
- Heartland
- Heathcliff (October 6, 2018 – September 30, 2019)
- Highway to Heaven[16] (December 22, 2016 – January 14, 2021)
- Inspector Gadget (December 22, 2016 – October 5, 2018 & October 1, 2019 – April 2020)
- It's About Time (October 5, 2019 – January 14, 2021)
- Madeline (December 22, 2016 – September 30, 2019)
- Mister Ed
- My Mother the Car (October 5, 2019 – January 14, 2021)
- Naturally, Sadie (October 1, 2019 – April 2020)
- The Patty Duke Show (September 3, 2018 – January 14, 2021)
- The Pink Panther Show (December 24, 2016 – September 29, 2019)
- Sea Hunt
- Wimzie's House (December 22, 2016 – September 30, 2019)
Former over-the-air affiliates
As Light TV, the network space initially launched on subchannels of fourteen Fox and MyNetworkTV stations owned by Fox Television Stations, with most of the initial affiliates being owned-and-operated stations of the Fox Broadcasting Company.[21] MGM then offered the network to stations outside the initial markets.[22] The network moved to subchannels of Allen Media Group-owned stations after Allen purchased the network in 2021.[23]
References
- ^ Kee, Tameka (June 10, 2009). "Can NBCU's TheGrio.com Succeed Where RushmoreDrive.com Failed?". CBS News. Archived from the original on April 15, 2024. Retrieved March 27, 2013.
- Carolina Journal Online.
- 4 NBC New York.
- ^ "The Grio Web Site". C-SPAN Video Library, August 20, 2012.
- ^ "TheGrio reveals annual Top 100 list". Today, February 4, 2013.
- ^ Jordan Chariton (August 14, 2014). "NBC News Selling TheGrio.com". TVNewser. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
- ^ Debbie Emery (June 14, 2016). "Byron Allen's Entertainment Studios Acquires TheGrio". TheWrap. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
- ^ "Black News Channel is now theGrio" (Press release). TheGrio. August 1, 2022. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
- ^ "Allen Media Group Buys Two Networks From MGM," from Deadline, 10/28/2020
- ^ Haring, Bruce (December 4, 2020). "Byron Allen's Light TV Will Transition To 'TheGrio.TV' Next Month To Kick Off MLK Day Weekend". Deadline. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
- ^ Miller, Mark K. (December 8, 2020). "Fox O&Os Adding TheGrio.TV To Subchannels". TVNewsCheck. Archived from the original on August 20, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
- ^ "MGM Launches Light TV on Fox Owned Stations and Affiliates". Broadcasting & Cable. NewBay Media. November 16, 2016. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
- ^ "Faith-Based LIGHT TV Coming To FOX 32.2 In December". Chicagoland Radio & Media. November 16, 2016. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
- ^ Busch, Mike Fleming Jr, Anita (September 22, 2014). "MGM Buys 55% Of Roma Downey And Mark Burnett's Empire; Relaunches United Artists". Deadline. Penske Business Media. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Lieberman, David (December 14, 2015). "MGM Taps Mark Burnett To Run TV Operation After Buying Out JV Partners". Deadline. Penske Business Media. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
- ^ a b c Busch, Anita (December 15, 2015). "Roma Downey, Mark Burnett And MGM Launch Light TV With Fox Stations On Board". Deadline. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
- ^ Bouma, Luke (March 3, 2017). "Three New Over-the-Air TV Networks Recently Launched - Cord Cutters News". Cord Cutters News. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
- ^ Masters, Kim (November 19, 2020). ""He Makes You Feel Like You're Questioning Your Sanity": Mark Burnett's Disruptive Reign at MGM". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
- ^ "LIGHT_SCHEDULE_AUGUST_24_UPDATE" (PDF). August 1, 2017.
- ^ a b "GrioTV Schedule - Check What's on".
- TVSpy. Prometheus Global Media. November 16, 2016.
- ^ Kate Stanhope (November 16, 2016). "Roma Downey, Mark Burnett and MGM to Launch Faith Digital Network on Fox Stations". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
- ^ "Stations for Network - The Grio". RabbitEars.Info. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
External links
- Official website
- "MSNBC will air the world premiere of 'Meeting David Wilson,' Friday, April 11, 9 p.m. ET". NBC News. March 22, 2008.
- "TheGrio.com". NBC Universal Media Village. Archived from the originalon October 5, 2013.