Business
African American TV network – Soul Of The South Network launches May 27
(Press Release) – Soul Of The South Network – a 24-hour regional broadcast network targeting African American viewers in the South, and key Northern and mid-West “sister cities,” will launch in 30 markets on Memorial Day Weekend, May 27, 2013.
The launch comes following a US$10 million infusion from a group of institutional investors and individuals including, Arkansas Development Finance Authority (ADFA); Arkansas Economic Development Commission (AEDC); Arkansas Capital Corporation (ACC); along with members of the private sector from the areas of sports, business, and entertainment.
Headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas, Soul of The South Network will expand to 50-60 designated market areas with high concentrations of African Americans and reach 30 – 40 million households by late summer 2013.
Operating from a 30,000 square foot production facility that was formerly part of Equity Broadcasting, the new network will feature a lineup of what it calls “Southern-focused African American programming,” local and national news, feature films, syndicated programming, court shows, variety and music based programming, all with a Southern focus, with an emphasis on “the unique cultural attributes and lifestyles of the South.”
Edwin V. Avent will lead the marketing and sales efforts and anticipates success at this year’s upfront marketplace. Says Avent, “In my 20 years of selling advertising, I have yet to see such unprecedented excitement from advertisers about the Southern markets and I expect that our ad sales team will be announcing a number of exciting partnerships in the coming months.”
Larry Morton, former CEO of Equity Broadcasting Company and founder of Retro TV, will serve as Chief Operating Officer; and Frank Mercado-Valdes, former CEO of African Heritage Networks, will serve as Chief Strategic Officer.
Avent, Morton, and Mercado-Valdes will lead an experienced team of media veterans including; groundbreaking producer/director Doug McHenry who will serve as President of Entertainment; Carl McCaskill, Executive Vice President of Branding and Business Development; Maurice James is Senior Vice President of Network Production; Tom Jacobs is News Director; broadcast veteran Matthew L. Mixon will serve as General Manager of the flagship station based in Little Rock, Arkansas; Sherman Kizart will serve as Executive Vice President of Corporate Advertising Sales; former Johnson Publishing executive Jeff Burns Jr. will serve as Senior Vice President of Integrated marketing; Curtis Symonds, a former BET Senior Executive, will serve as Executive Vice President of Sports and Cable Distribution; Jeffrey Lyle will serve as Chief Technology Officer, managing the company’s master control system in Little Rock, Arkansas through Gateway Media Technology; Jeff Timpa is Vice President of National Programming; National Ad Sales will be led by Vice President Adrianne Smith who will work in tandem with minority advertising firms MaxAD Media and Brandworks USA.
