Black Culture Goes Front & Center With the Launch of BlackTV247.com

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- BTV247, Inc., the leading digital media company focused exclusively on Black culture, today announced the launch of www.blacktv247.com, the single largest internet destination exclusively focused on Black-inspired programming.

Visitors to the site will find an extensive directory of conveniently catalogued well-known TV favorites from the past and the present, including: the Dave Chappelle Show, Sanford & Son, Tavis Smiley, Boondocks, Tyra Banks and the Jefferson's, as well as a slate of original programming options ranging from BTV Production's own, The Best of Black TV247, hosted by current Miss Arizona USA, Brittany Bell, to The Trial Of Huey Newton, a documentary featuring exclusive, never before broadcast footage from the Black Panther Party archives.

"BlackTV247.com will facilitate a level of uncensored cultural expression that was inconceivable when the Black Panther Party was founded in 1966. The prospects for the network are very promising and we are particularly excited about making the Black Panther archives available to a larger audience," says founding Black Panther Party Chief of Staff and current Executive Director of the Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation, David Hilliard.

BlackTV247.com's programming is sourced from a broad spectrum of content providers, enabling viewers to access a variety of mainstream and independently produced programs, all of which are free. Programming from both domestic and international sources is indexed in a channel directory, with channels ranging in genre from comedy and sports, to politics and faith, to business and music, providing viewers with a centralized destination to experience the breadth and depth of Black-inspired programming.

"Since 2008, our team has reviewed more than 100,000 hours of available programming and with 16 distinct channels; BlackTV247.com will offer audiences 16 times more programming options than any single television or cable channel," says Justin Beckett, founder and CEO of BTV247, Inc.

"As the premier curator of black programming content, BlackTV247.com is poised to meet the new demands of the marketplace and committed to an exceptional viewer-driven experience," adds Cecil Cox, co-founder and President of BTV247, Inc.

"Black consumer expenditures are expected to exceed $1 trillion by 2012 and BlackTV247.com's unique combination of original and acquired programming, targets a consumer market which is becoming more diverse relative to its programming appetite," says Beckett. "Successful media outlets must be able to tailor products to meet this demand. Our associations with mainstream media brands like HBO and our collaborations with iconic Black institutions, like The Huey P. Newton Foundation, reflect our philosophy of developing projects with partners who are leaders in their field.

Beckett, a Telly award-winning writer and producer with more than 20 years of diverse entrepreneurial and media-related management experience, founded BTV247, Inc. in 2008. Since 2000, he has created and successfully launched three online entertainment entities, including Fluid Music, one of the world's largest distributors and aggregators of independent music which he founded in 2004.

Beckett continues to serve on the board of the $100 million company which he guided to its June 2008 IPO on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Under Beckett's management, Fluid built a song catalogue of over 5 million tracks and through an exclusive partnership with the producers of American Idol, launched the online music discovery website, American Idol Underground.

According to recent statistics from the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, a Washington, DC-based independent, non-partisan public opinion research center that studies attitudes towards politics, the press, and public policy issues, 71% of Americans and 68% African Americans – 90% of which represents black teenagers - are actively using the Internet, an indication that the nation's online population is steadily on the increase.

"BlackTV247.com is positioned to be the go to online destination for fans of Black-inspired programming and its vast potential which remains untapped," adds Cox, an Emmy-nominated producer and former senior executive of Mundy Lane Entertainment, Denzel Washington's production company. "Internet viewing is an increasingly more popular entertainment option, and today's audience's demand innovative, customized programming and interactivity.

"BTV247 Inc. represents a foundation of over three decades of diverse media expertise, our team is committed and we are uniquely qualified to satisfy consumer demand," says Beckett.

BTV247, Inc. is a Los Angeles, CA based digital media company created in direct response to the increasing popularity of online video consumption and the desire to serve the large audience for Black-inspired programming.

To view programs, visit: www.blacktv247.com and for corporate information, visit: www.btv247.com

SOURCE BTV247, Inc.