AMW !.e. Talent: Andrea M. White
February 15, 2007
Just when Hip-Hop America was starting to believe Jay and Diddy didn’t have enough exposure, move over Bob Johnson – these two rap moguls are experimenting with the idea of launching a new urban channel through Video On-Demand.
The two were spotted recently in Philadelphia at Comcast Cable’s corporate operations along with movie producers/brothers, Harvey and Bob Weinstein and Comcast executives Ralph and Brian Roberts. This meeting, said to be the first of many meetings among moguls, was arranged by the Weinsteins who are looking to fund the project. Sources from the New York Post say the meeting was arranged to discuss the need for an “urban focused channel” that would be featured on Comcast’s Video On-Demand network. Comcast currently owns a 51% stake in TV One, a direct competitor of BET, and is aggressively looking to expand its Video On-Demand programming. Cable execs also state that music videos are among the most popular on-demand content – the idea is to create a VO-D version of BET.
While various sources say that Hov and Diddy would serve as managers of some sort for the new channel, their main purpose for the organization would serve as an attraction for younger audiences. The Hip-Hop community is anxious to learn what this could create for urban television; could this generate some serious competition for BET, challenging them to step their game up, or will this be the beginning of more “Making of the Band” reality drama – lets hope not. Either way, Jay-Z and P-Diddy continue to make waves throughout the industry and keep us on our toes.
