Comcast Corp. will begin the process of adding 10 new independent, minority-owned and operated channels by soliciting proposals from Hispanic and African-American networks.
As part of its merger agreement with NBC Universal, Comcast pledged it would launch 10 new independent channels over the next eight years, including eight that are Hispanic- and African-American owned or operated. Comcast officials are now accepting proposals for the first three. The first, a channel that is "American Latino operated and programmed in English" -- will launch by July 28, 2012.
The other two will be majority African-American-owned and will launch by January 28, 2013. A suite of six 24-hour HD cable networks owned by African-American comedian Byron Allen and HBCU Net -- a 24-hour network featuring content from Historically Black College and Universities headed by former BET executive Curtis Symonds - are among the networks that could vie for those slots.
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