Black News Channel Taps Vizrt Tool For Launch

Black News Channel (BNC), a new cable news channel aimed at African-American viewers, announced at the NAB Show in Las Vegas that it will use an end-to-end workflow from Vizrt when it launches in November.

BNC will use an integrated broadcasting package that includes: Viz Pilot, Viz Trio, Viz World, Viz Social TV, Viz Multichannel, Viz Engine, Viz Virtual Studio, Viz Multiplay, and Viz One solutions.

BNC is being developed by cable TV veteran Bob Brillante, its CEO, and former college football star and U.S. congressman J.C. Watts, Jr., who will serve as chairman. Watts, who visited NAB to discuss the launch, said that BNC will produce 14-16 hours a day of original programming for the 24-hour linear network along with extensive digital offerings.

Watts, who was a star quarterback at the University of Oklahoma, says BNC will let him put the journalism degree he earned there to good use. He says the network’s programming will seek to expand past sports and entertainment coverage, where the African-American audience is already well-served, to also cover arts, education and health issues unique to the African-American community such as sickle-cell anemia.

Watts says that he was impressed by both the capabilities of Vizrt’s graphics and their customer support.

“You want someone you can trust,” Watts said.

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