Byron Allen's theGrio is adding two news shows to the lineup on its cable network.
The shows, starting Oct. 24, are TheGrio with Eboni K. Williams at 6 p.m. ET weeknights and TheGrio with Marc Lamont Hill following at 7 p.m.
Allen acquired the assets of the Black News Channel, which was in bankruptcy in July for $11 million. The channel had stopped producing shows but still had carriage on cable with Comcast, Charter, Cox, DirecTV, Dish and Verizon Fios, and theGrio took over that distribution in August, airing mostly movies.
Allen in 2016 purchased theGrio, a videocentric news platform devoted to providing African-Americans with compelling stories. The upcoming shows are just the beginning of bringing news content to the cable channel, Geraldine Moriba, theGrio's senior VP of entertainment, news and empowerment, told Broadcasting+Cable.
Moriba said theGrio planned to roll out a couple more news shows by spring.
"The word grio means storyteller or journalist," she said. "We're trying to be a destination that reflects what the conversations are right now in the Black community."
Both Williams and Hill are qualified to not just talk about the issues, but can bring analysis based on their experience and knowledge.
Williams is an attorney, former radio host, podcaster and a former Real Housewives of New York cast member who has been on TV with Fox News and Revolt TV.
Her show on theGrio will look at news-making legal cases of interest to African-Americans. Some cases will involve famous people, others not so much.
"The one thing about Eboni Williams that the audience will see is she's unapologetic. She's going to basically bring legal analysis and common sense to her commentary and conversations about what's happening in our world right now," Moriba said.
Hill previously had a show on Black News Channel, before it was acquired by Allen. Moriba said it was the most successful show on the network. "It just made sense for him to do something similar to what he was doing before," she said.
The show will have Hill, a professor of media studies and urban education at Temple University, talking about politics and other subjects.
Hill will be talking about a study theGrio did with the Kaiser Family Foundation, looking at Black voters.
"The show gives us an opportunity to have really in-depth conversations around what black voters are thinking about the Democratic Party, the Republican Party or whether or not they approve of Joe Biden's job performance," said Moriba.
One of the first episodes will reunite the cast of A Different World. "It was a very popular show among certain generations," she said. "He got the cast together and he's doing an entire episode on the show. What's happened since, but also what the show meant in that moment of history."
Moriba said theGrio's mandate is to give a voice to the community in a way that isn't happening anywhere. "We're the largest black newsroom. There is no other news organization in the country that's doing what we're doing." ■
