Black News Channel shuts down days after ratings high
ABC News
The Black News Channel shut down on Friday after failing to meet its payroll and losing the support of its chief investor, Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shahid Khan
NEW YORK -- The Black News Channel has pulled the plug after the 2-year-old venture failed to meet payroll and lost the backing of its biggest investor.
Princell Hair, the company's president and CEO, told employees Friday in a memo that the news network was ceasing live production and would file for bankruptcy. BNC was available in some 50 million homes with cable and satellite but had failed to attract many viewers.
The network, founded in 2020 by former GOP congressman J.C. Watts, hired more than 250 Black journalists and production personnel last year in a relaunch following an investment by Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shahid Khan.
But it was consistently losing money, despite two rounds of layoffs, and Khan decided to stop investing in it further. It is currently three weeks short of payroll, a company spokesman said.
