James L. DuBose | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 4, 1969 |
| Education | BA, Communications |
| Alma mater | Wake Forest University |
| Occupation(s) | Founder and CEO, In The Black Network |
| Years active | 1996–present |
| Notable work | Fox Soul, Dish Nation, E! |
| Television | Keyshia Cole: The Way It Is , Keyshia Cole: All In , The Michael Vick Project , Monica: Still Standing |
| Website | https://intheblacknetwork.tv/ |
James DuBose (born December 1969) is an American television & film producer and media executive recognized for playing an instrumental role in the successful launch and original programming of Fox Soul, FOX Television's first OTT channel. [1] [2] [3] DuBose is founder of In The Black Network (ITBN), an OTT streaming platform of curated cultural content, carried across streaming services including Roku, Google TV, Apple TV and amazon Fire TV. [4] He has served as executive producer at Dish Nation, E! and is responsible for creating BET Networks' Comic View, Monica: Still Standing, Keyshia Cole: The Way It Is, The Michael Vick Project and Kevin Hart: One Mic Stand. [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]
A native of Greensboro, North Carolina, James DuBose was born in 1969 to a local chef and restauranteur-father and a hardworking factory worker-mother. He raised as an only child, coming of age during a historical turning point in the civil rights movement and his hometown: the "desegregation and integration" period marked by the 1969 Greensboro Uprising. [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]
DuBose attended Northeast Guilford Middle School before he transitioned to Northeast Guilford High School in McLeansville, North Carolina. [11] He gained recognition as an elite athlete on both the football field and the basketball court, and received a full athletic football scholarship at Wake Forest University where he majored in Communications. DuBose was a major team player of WSU's college football roster, as a defensive end for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. [15] As a senior, he was co-captain of the 1989 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team. [16] On May 21, 1990, [17] DuBose graduated with a Bachelor of Communications. [18] He would go on to pledge Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.
In 2006, DuBose founded DuBose Entertainment. [19] Within the first two years of operation, the Los Angeles production company had 45 employees. [20] Projects under the DuBose Entertainment banner include ComicView: One Mic Stand with Kevin Hart, Keyshia Cole: The Way It Is , Monica: Still Standing , Tiny and Toya, Toya: A Family Affair, Trey Songz: My Moment, The Michael Vick Project , and Hell Date . [21] [22]
Efforts to form a music branch under the DuBose Entertainment banner led DuBose to join forces with rapper MC Lyte. [23] [24] On August 27, 2009, MC Lyte took to her blog to announce the merger. [25] "There is no doubt that James DuBose is a prolific producer," she wrote, [25] "who has become the go to guy for some of today's biggest names." [25] Two years later, the pair signed dancehall reggae artist Beenie Man to the music label. [26] That same year, R&B singer Tweet joined the growing artist roster of DuBose Music Group. [27] In 2013, Tweet released a five-track EP, Simply Tweet , under the DuBose banner. [27]
On January 13, 2020 DuBose led the official live-streamed launch of Fox Soul, a digital television network and streaming service operated by Fox Television Stations, audience-accessed through various digital streaming platforms including YouTube, YouTube TV, Fox Now, Samsung +, Roku, Tubi, Amazon Fire TV, The Web, Apple TV, Stirr, FuboTV, IOS, Android, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. [28]
In May 2021, with a reported 44-million count of viewers, Fox Soul was green-lit to expand its Black culture-fuelled programming. With DuBose as head of programming, the streaming service successfully entered its second season. [29] "The partnerships with black talent and creators that we have been able to forge to date, speaks [sic] volumes to how the community is feeling about us here at FOX SOUL," DuBose told PR and mainstream media outlets. [30]
On September 30, 2022 Deadline Hollywood published word of FOX Soul's further expansion with a return of original flagship series on the network including The Black Report, The Book of Sean (hosted by Rev. Dr. Sean H. McMillian), The Business of Being Black with Tammi Mac, Cocktails with the Queens (co-hosted by Claudia Jordan, Vivica A. Fox, LisaRaye McCoy and Syleena Johnson), [31] and TEA G-I-F (co-hosted by Claudia Jordan, Al Reynolds and Funky Dineva aka Quentin Latham). [32] "Fox Soul continues to expand on genres that we love, in a unique way. This fall, we are tapping further into music, sports and finance," said James DuBose, general manager and Head of Programming. "Fox Soul will continue to provide programming that tells the story behind the stories as we remain resolute in our mission to entertain, educate and inspire."
In February 2023 Fox Soul was recognized by the Biden White House as a game-changing network of choice trusted by 46th president of the United States of America Joe Biden. [33] "The President was looking forward to an interview with Fox Soul to discuss the Super Bowl, the State of the Union, and critical issues impacting the everyday lives of Black Americans," read an announcement posted to the official Twitter account of 35th White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, surrounding the widely publicized pre-Super Bowl 57 presidential interview. [34] "We’ve been informed that Fox Corp has asked for the interview to be cancelled." [35] Jean-Pierre's social media announcement was highlighted by all mainstream media outlets including ABC, CBS, NBC, [36] and CNN. [37] "The White House seeking out Fox Soul was seen as a way to have the president avoid appearing with a Fox News personality while still going through with an interview," wrote Politico California Bureau Chief Christopher Cadelago. "Biden’s team worked on landing an agreement with Fox Soul, a streaming outfit part of Fox’s TV stations division and geared toward a Black audience. White House officials had arranged for the interview to be conducted by Fox Sports host Mike Hill and actress Vivica A. Fox. Fox Soul general manager James DuBose had planned to produce the interview. [3] All three flew Friday from Los Angeles to Washington for the interview." [38]
DuBose spent three years at Fox Soul, which launched in early 2020, before leaving in 2023 to set up ITBN. [39]
On June 23, 2023 Deadline Hollywood announced that DuBose had founded in the Black Network, an advertisement-based video on demand streaming service "that highlights Black voices and original stories." [40] "Since its inception in October 2023 by CEO James DuBose, In The Black Network TV (“ITBN") has aimed to become the leading platform for Black creators and diverse audiences," wrote Nickie E. Robinson for Madamenoire.com. "Its goal is to create a destination that highlights stories in a celebration of authenticity and unity." [41] In an interview with the National Newspaper Publishers Association's Let It Be Known morning news show, [42] DuBose described In The Black Network as "a cultural phenomenon set to house a rich tapestry of entertainment meticulously curated from the vault of Fox Television Stations." [43]
Within six months of the initial launch, a music division was formed. [44] On February 26, 2024, In The Black Music, a division of James DuBose's in the Black Network—in collaboration with the label Red Eye Lifestyle—released a ten-track album titled Game 7 by North Carolina hip-hop lyricist Joshua Gunn. DuBose and Gunn shared executive producer credits over the "Pay What You Want" marketed sound recording. [45]
On March 22, 2024 Deadline Hollywood reported that Holly Davis Carter had announced her "family, faith and lifestyle-focused MergeTV would be launched and carried on ITBN. [46] A social media campaign featured DuBose and Carter celebrating the newly established platform-partnership, aiming to present audiences with "elevated content, redeeming conversations and inspired entertainment" over INBN. [47]
A 2024 article by RollingOut.com cited InTheBlackNetwork.tv's "community-driven" content of influential value creating a "cultural legacy". The author drew a comparison to similarly constructed yet seasoned networks including Kathy Hughes' TV One and Oprah Winfrey's OWN. [48]
DuBose officiated his role as a film producer with the February 11, 2018 release of the Damon Dash-directed Lionsgate film Honor Up. [49] According to the Los Angeles Times , "Damon Dash directed and stars in this crime drama about an OG trying to protect his family after a shootout in Harlem." [50]
DuBose reportedly plans to launch a television production camp for children of low-income families. [51]
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the James DuBose Scholarship Program was created as a charitable resource for qualified candidates to gain financial assistance for post-secondary study in the US across multiple disciplines. [52]
On September 8, 2022, DuBose was named a trailblazing figure at the Sheen Magazine Awards show. [53] In a press release, the Black PR Wire published word of the event held in Atlanta, Georgia. Hosted by Dish Nation commentator Headkrack, the awards show was streamed live from the Sheraton Hotel Atlanta over the Fox Soul streaming network. [54]
| Year | Title | Network | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Who's Cheating Who? [55] | BET | Producer |
| 2023 | Whatever It Takes | BET Plus | Executive Producer [56] |
| 2018 | Dish Nation | Fox Television Networks | Executive producer [57] |
| 2018 | Honor Up | Lionsgate | Executive Producer [58] |
| 2017 | WAGS Atlanta | E! Networks, Comcast | Executive producer [59] |
| 2016 | From The Bottom Up [60] | BET Networks | Executive producer [61] |
| 2015 | Keyshia Cole: All In | BET Networks | Executive producer |
| 2014 | Keyshia & Daniel: Family First | BET Networks | Executive producer [62] |
| 2014 | Toya: A Family Affair | BET Networks | Executive producer [63] |
| 2013 | ComicView 14 | BET Networks, Viacom | Executive producer [64] |
| 2012 | The Start Up (originally titled, Diggy Simmons MOV) | BET Networks | Executive producer [65] |
| 2012 | Keyshia Cole: The Way It Is | BET Networks | Executive producer [66] |
| 2010 | Monica: Still Standing | BET NEtworks | Executive producer [67] |
| 2010 | Tiny & Toya | BET Networks | Executive producer |
| 2010 | The Michael Vick Project | BET Networks | Executive producer [68] |
| 2009 | Frankie & Neffe | BET Networks | Executive producer [69] |
| 2009 | Inside DTP [70] | BET Networks | Executive producer [71] |
| 2009 | Trey Songz: My Moment [72] | BET Networks | Executive producer [73] |
| 2008 | One Mic Stand with Kevin Hart | BET Networks | Executive producer [74] |
| 2007 | We Got to Do Better | BET Networks | Director [75] |
| 2005 | Super Agent | Spike TV, Viacom | Executive producer [76] |
| 2005 | Run's House | MTV, MTV2, BET | Producer |
| 2005 | P. Diddy Presents: The Bad Boys of Comedy [77] | HBO, Time Warner | Executive producer [78] |
| 1999 | Tarzan in Concert With Phil Collins | Time Warner | Producer |