Cable Channel Devoted To Black Viewers, Actors

Sun., Sept. 29, 1996

From Wire Reports

BET Movies, the first cable channel devoted to movies made by and starring blacks, is targeted to launch in February.

Investors include actor Denzel Washington and Ebony and Jet magazines. Lineup for the premium service - which has no commitments yet from cable or satellite operators - will include such flicks as Spike Lee’s “Clockers,” Gordon Parks’ “Shaft” and Sidney Poitier’s “To Sir With Love.”

Cable’s BET, which reaches more than 46 million homes, is launching the project, along with Encore Media Corp. In announcing BET Movies Tuesday, BET chairman Robert Johnson said research showed that blacks watch the tube 50 percent more than non-blacks.

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