TheGrio, styled as thegrio, is an American

television network A television network or television broadcaster is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, where a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay television providers. Until the mid ...

and website with news, opinion, entertainment and video content geared toward

Black Americans African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensla ...

. The website originally launched in June 2009 as a division of

NBC News NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, a division of NBCUniversal, which is, in turn, a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's v ...

, it became a division of

MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...

in 2013. It was founded by the team who created the

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

'' Meeting David Wilson''. In 2014, it was sold to its founders. In June 2016,

Byron Allen Byron Allen Folks (born April 22, 1961) is the founder of the U.S. entertainment company Entertainment Studios which includes The Weather Channel. He is also a television producer, philanthropist, and comedian in his younger years. Notable s ...

Entertainment Studios Entertainment Studios, Inc., also known as Allen Media Group, is an American media and entertainment company based in Los Angeles. Owned and founded in 1993 by businessman Byron Allen, the company was initially involved in the production and ...

acquired the site. The TV channel was founded as Light TV in 2016 by

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1 ...

producer

Mark Burnett Mark Burnett (born 17 July 1960) is a television producer who is the former Chairman of MGM Worldwide Television Group. He is best known for creating and producing the reality shows ''The Apprentice'', '' Survivor'', ''The Voice'', and ''Sh ...

and his wife, actress

Roma Downey Roma Burnett (née Downey) is an actress, producer, and author from Derry, Northern Ireland. She produced the mini-series ''The Bible'' for the History Channel and also appeared in it as Mary, mother of Jesus. For nine seasons she played Moni ...

, as an inspirational network as part of his chairmanship of

MGM Television MGM Television Worldwide Group and Digital (alternatively Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television Group and Digital, commonly known as MGM Television and then-known as MGM/UA Television; common metonym: Lion) is an American television production/Bro ...

, which operated the network. It was sold to Entertainment Studios in late 2020, and relaunched as TheGrio TV in January 2021, with a Black-specific programming focus. After Entertainment Studios purchased the assets of the bankrupt Black News Channel in late July 2022, that network was merged into TheGrio TV on August 1, including the former's existing cable, satellite and advertiser supported on-demand streaming carriage, and plans to add more news and commentary to TheGrio TV's schedule.

History as web site

TheGrio's editorial mandate is to "focus on news and events that have a unique interest and pronounced impact within the national African Americans audience,"Ham, Jon (August 10, 2009)
"NBC’s theGrio.com needs diversity training"
'' Carolina Journal Online''. offering what co-founder and Executive Editor David Wilson feels "are underrepresented in existing national news outlets". The website's name is derived from the word ''

griot A griot (; ; Manding: jali or jeli (in N'Ko: , ''djeli'' or ''djéli'' in French spelling); Serer: kevel or kewel / okawul; Wolof: gewel) is a West African historian, storyteller, praise singer, poet, and/or musician. The griot is a repos ...

'', the term for a

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali ...

oral historian Oral history is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews. These interviews are conducted with people wh ...

and storyteller.

Personnel

Founders

* David A. Wilson* ( co-founder and

executive editor Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dire ...

)"theGrio team"
theGrio. Retrieved March 14, 2013. * Daniel Woolsey (co-founder and vice president of operations) * Barion L. Grant* (co-founder and former director of sales) (*) no longer with the company

Leadership

* Todd Johnson (

chief content officer A chief content officer (CCO) is a corporate executive responsible for the digital media creation and multi-channel publication of the organization's content (text, video, audio, animation, etc.). The CCO is usually an executive role or senior v ...

) * Natasha S. Alford (vice president and content creation) * Gerren Keith Gaynor (

managing editor A managing editor (ME) is a senior member of a publication's management team. Typically, the managing editor reports directly to the editor-in-chief and oversees all aspects of the publication. United States In the United States, a managing edit ...

) * Shana Pinnock (social media director) * Mariel Turner (senior editor)

Television network

LightTV (2015–2020)

The then-new over-the-top (OTT) faith-based channel was under development as early as September 2014 when MGM purchased 55% of One Three Media and LightWorkers Media, owned by Hearst Entertainment,

and

, and consolidated them into United Artists Media Group. With MGM purchasing Hearst and Burnett and Downey's shares in UAMG, the channel was still a planned streaming service. However, Hearst and Burnett and Downey retained their stakes in the channel. MGM announced the formation of Light TV on December 15, 2015, with a launch planned for December on thirteen major market stations owned by

Fox Television Stations Fox Television Stations, LLC (FTS; alternately Fox Television Stations Group, LLC), is a group of television stations located within the United States, which are owned-and-operated by the Fox Broadcasting Company, a subsidiary of the Fox Co ...

. The network launched on January 20, 2016 with two stations, and the rest of the group's stations. The network was intended to carry new and original content from LightWorkers as part of Burnett's chairmanship of MGM's television division, but never ended up carrying any new content, only featuring rerun and library content already seen on MGM's

This TV This TV (also known as This TV Network and alternately stylized as thisTV) is an American free-to-air television network owned by Allen Media Broadcast Networks, LLC, part of the Allen Media Group division of Entertainment Studios. Originally f ...

(a film-oriented network) and

MGM HD MGM HD was an all high-definition television cable network owned by the MGM HD Productions subsidiary of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), a division of Amazon's MGM Holdings, Inc. It featured movies from the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer library of 1,200 movie ...

, along with low-cost barter programming such as ''

Heartland Heartland or Heartlands may refer to: Businesses and organisations * Heartland Bank, a New Zealand-based financial institution * Heartland Inn, a chain of hotels based in Iowa, United States * Heartland Alliance, an anti-poverty organization ...

'', which was already in wide syndication across multiple channels, along with other generic inspirational or family-friendly content. By 2019, the network added paid programming which made up its late night and early morning schedule, reducing its programming commitment further.

TheGrio TV (2021–present)

Light TV and This TV were both sold by MGM TV in October 2020 to the Allen Media Group division of

. On December 3, 2020, it was announced that the network would be relaunched as TheGrio.TV on January 15, 2021, carrying lifestyle and entertainment programming of interest to the

Black American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

community as an extension of the website. That same day, Light TV's satellite transponder space was taken over by Entertainment Studios, which stopped carrying programming in the interim and instead transmitted a test pattern promoting the launch of TheGrio (later a looping launch promo), while MGM continued to carry a stream of Light TV through the network's website.

confirmed its stations would be a part of TheGrio's charter launch group, and much of its affiliate body transferred over through the month-long dark period, though some stations departed for other networks. The network officially relaunched as TheGrio on January 15, 2021, that year's Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and that same day MGM handed over the domain of Light TV to Entertainment Studios, ending the stream of Light TV.

Programming

Light TV featured several series and movies meant to fit the network's family-oriented approach, including content from the MGM film and TV library or acquired through outside sources.

Infomercial An infomercial is a form of television commercial that resembles regular TV programming yet is intended to promote or sell a product, service or idea. It generally includes a toll-free telephone number or website. Most often used as a form of dire ...

s were added to the Light TV lineup in 2019, occupying all of the overnight hours and into the early morning.

Current programming

Below is a current list of programming broadcast on TheGrio: * America's Court With Judge Ross (November 1, 2021) * '' Animal Rescue'' * ''

Comics Unleashed ''Comics Unleashed'' is a half-hour comedic talk show produced by the Entertainment Studios production company (formerly CF Entertainment) and hosted by Byron Allen, with John Cramer as announcer and DJ Cobra or sometimes DJ A1 providing music ...

'' (November 1, 2021) * '' The First Family'' (January 15, 2021) * ''Jeremiah'' (November 1st) * ''Justice With Judge Mablean'' (November 1, 2021) * '' Mr. Box Office'' (January 15, 2021) * ''Supreme Justice with Judge Karen Mills'' (November 1, 2021) * ''The Verdict with Judge Hatchett'' (November 1, 2021) * ''Wild Times at the San Diego Zoo'' * HBCU GO sports – coverage of college athletics at

historically black colleges and universities Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. ...

, especially

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

and the bands of those teams

Former programming

* ''

The Adventures of Paddington Bear ''The Adventures of Paddington Bear'' is an animated children's television series. It is based on the book ''Paddington Bear'' by Michael Bond and was written by Bruce Robb. It was produced by CINAR Corporation and Protecrea, in co-production ...

'' (2016–2019) * '' All Dogs Go to Heaven: The Series'' (December 22, 2016 – September 29, 2019) * '' Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?'' (2016–2019, 2020–January 14, 2021) * ''

The Busy World of Richard Scarry ''The Busy World of Richard Scarry'' is an animated children's television series, produced by CINAR Animation and France Animation in association with Paramount Television, which aired from 1994 to 1997, first on Showtime, later on Nickelodeo ...

'' (December 22, 2016 – October 2, 2020) * '' The Country Mouse and the City Mouse Adventures'' (December 22, 2016 – October 2, 2020) * '' Flipper'' * '' Flipper – The New Adventures'' * ''

Franny's Feet ''Franny's Feet'' is a children's animated television series created by Cathy Moss and Susin Nielsen. The show was produced by Decode Entertainment (now WildBrain) with the participation of Family Channel and in association with Channel Five B ...

'' (2017–September 30, 2019) * ''

Green Acres ''Green Acres'' is an American television sitcom starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor as a couple who move from New York City to a country farm. Produced by Filmways as a sister show to '' Petticoat Junction'', the series was first broadc ...

'' (2016–2018; October 1, 2019 – January 14, 2021) * ''

'' * '' Heathcliff'' (October 6, 2018 – September 30, 2019) * ''

Highway to Heaven ''Highway to Heaven'' is an American fantasy drama television series that ran on NBC from September 19, 1984, to August 4, 1989. The series starred Michael Landon as Jonathan Smith, an angel sent to Earth in order to help people in need. Vi ...

'' (December 22, 2016 – January 14, 2021) * ''

Inspector Gadget ''Inspector Gadget'' is a media franchise that began in 1983 with the DIC Entertainment animated television series '' Inspector Gadget''. Since the original series, there have been many spin-offs based on the show, including additional animated ...

'' (December 22, 2016 – October 5, 2018 & October 1, 2019 – April 2020) * '' It's About Time'' (October 5, 2019 – January 14, 2021) * ''

Madeline ''Madeline'' is a media franchise that originated as a series of children's books written and illustrated by Ludwig Bemelmans, an Austrian-American author. The books have been adapted into numerous formats, spawning telefilms, television series ...

'' (December 22, 2016 – September 30, 2019) * '' Mister Ed'' * ''

My Mother the Car ''My Mother the Car'' is an American fantasy comedy that aired for a single season on NBC between September 14, 1965 and April 5, 1966. Thirty episodes were produced by United Artists Television. The premise features a man whose deceased mothe ...

'' (October 5, 2019 – January 14, 2021) * ''

Naturally Sadie ''Naturally, Sadie'' is a Canadian teen comedy drama that ran for three seasons from June 24, 2005 to August 26, 2007 on Family Channel. The series was produced by Decode Entertainment. It was created by Barbara Wiechmann, and developed by Suzan ...

'' (October 1, 2019 – April 2020) * ''

The Patty Duke Show ''The Patty Duke Show'' is an American television sitcom created by Sidney Sheldon and William Asher. The series ran on ABC from September 18, 1963, to April 27, 1966. The series was developed as a vehicle for teenage star Patty Duke, who h ...

'' (September 3, 2018 – January 14, 2021) * '' The Pink Panther Show'' (December 24, 2016 – September 29, 2019) * ''

Sea Hunt ''Sea Hunt'' is an American action adventure television series that aired in syndication from 1958 to 1961 and was popular for decades afterwards. The series originally aired for four seasons, with 155 episodes produced. It stars Lloyd Bridges a ...

'' * '' Wimzie's House'' (December 22, 2016 – September 30, 2019)

Affiliates

Light TV initially launched on subchannels of fourteen Fox and

MyNetworkTV MyNetworkTV (unofficially abbreviated MyTV, MyNet, MNT or MNTV, and sometimes referred to as My Network) is an American commercial broadcast television syndication service and former television network owned by Fox Corporation, operated by its ...

stations owned by

, with most of the initial affiliates being owned-and-operated stations of the Fox Broadcasting Company. MGM then offered the network to stations outside the initial markets.

Former affiliates

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Grio Digital television in the United States Television channels and stations established in 2016 TheGrio African-American television networks African-American mass media Entertainment Studios American news websites Internet properties established in 2009 2016 mergers and acquisitions