Adds Tallahassee, FL & Albany, GA, Hits 72% Penetration of African American Households
Bounce TV (http://bouncetv.com), the country's first and fast-growing over-the-air broadcast television network for African-Americans, accelerated its tremendous growth and expansion today with two announcements; the first that will bring one of the most iconic television series ever to the network, the other that adds two more markets to Bounce TV's growing list of affiliated stations:
Martin Luther King III, member of Bounce TV's Founding Group and Board of Directors announced today that the network has acquired the television rights to all 113 episodes of Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids (TM) series in a licensing agreement with Classic Media. Bounce TV will launch the series with a special "Hey! Hey! Hey! It's New Year's Day" Marathon on Sunday, Jan. 1, 2012 starting at 12:00 Noon ET. Bounce TV will rebrand its Tuesday night line-up as "Fat Tuesdays" to feature four primetime episodes of the series back-to-back every week at 8:00 p.m. ET starting Tuesday, Jan.
Bounce TV will be seen in Tallahassee, FL on WTXL-TV, owned by Southern Broadcast Corp./Calkins Media, and in Albany, GA on Barrington Broadcasting Group's WFXL-TV. The addition of the two markets puts the pioneering Bounce TV in 72% of African American television homes.
"The reaction to our airing of Fat Albert's Halloween Special this past October was incredible and led to our pursuit of the entire series," commented King. "For years, millions of kids watched the comedic adventures and learned real life lessons from the Cosby Kids every weekend. Those kids, now adults and parents, can rediscover those memories while creating new ones by watching Fat Albert with their children on Bounce TV."
King added, "With the plethora of animated series airing nightly across the country, some laced with adult humor, we feel that Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids and their entertaining stories and messages of friendship and hope should have a weekly primetime showcase."
Neal Ardman, president of Broadcast Partners, which brokered the deal between Classic Media and Bounce TV, commented, ""How exciting to have Fat Albert back in primetime for a whole new generation to enjoy! We are thrilled to play a small role in this wonderful partnership between Bounce TV and Classic Media."
Bounce TV targets African Americans primarily between the ages of 25-54 with a programming mix of theatrical motion pictures, live sports, documentaries, specials, inspirational faith-based programs, off-net series, original programming and more. Bounce TV airs twenty four hours a day, seven days a week on the digital signals of local television stations. Martin Luther King III and Ambassador Andrew Young are among the Founding Group and Board of Directors of Bounce TV. Toyota USA is the signature sponsor of the network.
