iONE Digital Announces Partnership to Co-Produce Docu-Series 'Prisoner of Hope' With Sierra Productions
NEW YORK, June 21, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- iONE Digital, an Urban One, Inc. company, today announced its first digital video co-production partnership with Monalisa Johnson and Sierra Productions to develop, produce and distribute Prisoner of Hope, an episodic series that shines a light on the untold stories of families impacted by the criminal justice system. 'Prisoner of Hope' will bring Monalisa, who was previously featured in A&E's hit docu-series 60 Days In, together with families of present, former or soon-to-be-released inmates, as she guides them in finding solutions to overcome the devastating consequences associated with incarceration.
"Understanding and exploring family transformation when those families have dealt with incarceration is often overlooked in urban communities", said Detavio Samuels, President of iONE Digital and ONE Solution. "We believe Prisoner of Hope will encourage more dialogue and support for those who have endured the hardships associated with imprisonment."
Monalisa Johnson battled and won her own fight with the criminal justice system after her daughter was sentenced to 10 years in prison at the age of 18. During her daughter's incarceration and now following her daughter's recent release, Monalisa has dedicated her life to healing and restoring the families of prisoners. Appearing on television as an undercover prison inmate was part of Monalisa's mission to heal families that are personally impacted by imprisonment.
"Prisoner of Hope brings prison families out of the darkness", said Monalisa Johnson, CEO of Sierra Productions and Executive Producer of Prisoner of Hope. "It is my mission to put a human face on the prison family and I'm proud to have iONE Digital's support in allowing me to leverage my TV production expertise to co-produce this project that American families need to see."
Prisoner of Hope will launch exclusively on 'A Space for Creators', the premium video platform recently launched by iONE Digital, which was designed to connect audiences to the growing cadre of talented content creators who are telling compelling stories from a fresh perspective. The Prisoner of Hope series is iONE Digital's first co-production that is part of the network's renewed commitment to focus on original content that speaks to and reflects multicultural audiences. As digital streaming popularity grows, iONE is proud to offer socially conscious content that represents emerging talent, behind the scenes and in front of the camera.
"iONE Digital is focused on creating more opportunities for storytellers who are creating impactful content," said Damian Benders, Vice President of Video and Business Development at iONE Digital. "Our mission is to be an advocate for agents of change and to help their content reach larger audiences."
The pilot episode of Prisoner of Hope is now streaming and is available free of charge, exclusively on 'A Space for Creators' and will precede the full series launch that is anticipated for early 2020.
ABOUT URBAN ONE, INC.
Urban One, Inc. (urban1.com), together with its subsidiaries, is the largest diversified media company that primarily targets Black Americans and urban consumers in the United States. The Company owns TV One, LLC (tvone.tv), a television network serving more than 56 million households, offering a broad range of original programming, classic series and movies designed to entertain, inform and inspire a diverse audience of adult Black viewers. As one of the nation's largest radio broadcasting companies, Urban One currently owns and/or operates 59 broadcast stations (including HD stations we operate) branded under the tradename "Radio One" in 15 urban markets in the United States. Through its controlling interest in Reach Media, Inc. (blackamericaweb.com), the Company also operates syndicated programming including the Tom Joyner Morning Show, the Rickey Smiley Morning Show, the Russ Parr Morning Show and the DL Hughley Show. In addition to its radio and television broadcast assets, Urban One owns iONE Digital(ionedigital.com), our wholly owned dominant digital platform. iONE Digital reaches 25MM+ monthly digital consumers across a network of online destinations inclusive of our core brands - CASSIUS, GlobalGrind, HelloBeautiful, NewsOne, Bossip, MadameNoire, HipHopWired and BlackPlanet - as well as other Urban One owned and operated properties and affiliates. We also have invested in a minority ownership interest in MGM National Harbor, a gaming resort located in Prince George's County, Maryland. Through our national multi-media operations, we provide advertisers with a unique and powerful delivery mechanism to the African-American and urban audiences.
SOURCE iONE Digital
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