ESPN To Commemorate MLK Day With Live Town Hall Event

Cover of Martin Luther King, Jr.

By R. Thomas Umstead - Multichannel News

ESPN will air a live town hall discussion about the current image of the black athlete as part of week-long, multiplatform initiative tied to the 25th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr. national holiday.
The weeklong initiative, dubbed "Content of Character", begins tomorrow (Jan. 11) and will run through the official national holiday on Jan. 17, said network officials.
The two-hour town hall meeting, hosted by Robin Roberts, anchor for ABC morning show Good Morning America, and Bob Ley, host of ESPN's Outside The Lines will air Jan. 14 and focus on the topic of the current image of the black athlete. CONTINUE....

New HBCU Network May Debut During Black History Month

By Lynnette Khalfani-Cox

Calling all HBCU alum: If you're really into your alma mater, now you'll get a chance to root for your college team on TV, all the time. In 2011, Historically Black Colleges and Universities will have their own television network, mainly featuring black collegiate sports programming, via ESPN.

ESPN has struck a programming deal with the HBCU Network because ESPN owns the rights to games from various athletic conferences. HBCU Network is based in Atlanta and is headed by Curtis Symonds, who was previously head of affiliate sales and marketing at BET. Published reports say the HBCUs will jointly have a 20% equity stake in the network.

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