Revolt is an American music-oriented digital cabletelevision network and media company targeting African Americans. The TV network launched on October 21, 2013, as part of a larger agreement with Comcast. As of 2024, Detavio Samuels is CEO, while the company's employees are the majority shareholding group.[1]
As of July 2021, Revolt's cable network was available in 50 million U.S. households.[4]
History
Background
First logo, used until 2020
As part of its arrangement to acquire a minority interest in NBCUniversal, Comcast committed to carry several minority-owned networks.[5] The arrangement followed pressure led by Maxine Waters in congressional hearings.[6] In April 2011, Comcast solicited proposals for minority-owned networks.[7]
In February 2012, Comcast announced distribution arrangements for four networks, including Revolt.[8] The four announced networks and six forthcoming stations were being chosen from among in excess of 100 proposals to begin airing by 2020.[9] On October 1, 2013, Revolt announced that it would debut in New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago on October 21.[10]
Expansion
AT&T U-verse added the SD feed on July 27, 2015, and the HD feed on November 24, 2015; DirecTV would add the feed on December 24, 2015.[11]
On October 18, 2019, Ziggo announced that it would launch a Netherlands version of Revolt on November 1, 2019, in-collaboration with Dutch record label TopNotch, and AreaMedia.[12] Its programming would consist of interviews, news, hip-hop documentaries, live events, and music videos.[13][14] During its first months of broadcast, the US version of the channel would be shown on a 6-hour delay; from January 2020, Dutch programmes would be broadcast. The Dutch version was eventually closed on February 1, 2021.[15]
In Canada, Revolt would be part of the launch lineup of Live TV service RiverTV on June 4, 2020.[16]
Departure of Combs; employee ownership
On November 28, 2023, Combs said he would take a leave of absence amidst sexual assault lawsuits;[17] it was unclear when he would return to the company.[17] At the time, Combs was not involved with Revolt's day-to-day operations.[17] In March 2024, Combs sold his stake in Revolt to an anonymous buyer.[18]
On June 4, 2024, Revolt revealed that “Shares held by the company’s former chair have been fully redeemed and retired”, and that they have transferred majority ownership to its employees in order to keep the outlet Black-owned.[1][19] CEO Detavio Samuels, who joined in 2020, spoke to Billboard in an interview expressing hope that “more CEOs embrace and embody this idea of linked prosperity: if the company wins, every single person wins. We’re trying to set an industry standard where this type of thing becomes the norm.”[20]
Revolt Films
Revolt Films is a separate entity from the network, founded before its launch, but using the same name for brand association. It specializes in developing, producing, and financing films and original television content.
Lawless (2012; one year before the network launched; its first full-length feature film).[21][22]
Sean John Combs, also known as Diddy, and formerly Puff Daddy, Puffy and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, record producer, and record executive. He is the recipient of various accolades, including three Grammy Awards. He is credited with the discovery and development of musical artists including the Notorious B.I.G., Mary J. Blige, and Usher.
Comcast Corporation, formerly known as Comcast Holdings, is an American multinational telecommunications and media conglomerate incorporated and headquartered in Philadelphia.
Television in the Netherlands was officially introduced in 1951. In the Netherlands, the television market is divided between a number of commercial networks, such as RTL Nederland, and a system of public broadcasters sharing three channels, NPO 1, NPO 2, and NPO 3. Imported programmes, as well as news interviews with responses in a foreign language, are almost always shown in their original language, with subtitles.
NBC Sports Regional Networks is the collective name for a group of regional sports networks in the United States that are primarily owned and operated by the NBCUniversal division of the cable television company Comcast. The networks were originally established as Comcast SportsNet (CSN), a unit of Comcast's cable television business, beginning with a network in Philadelphia which launched in 1997. Their operations were aligned with the national NBC Sports division following the 2011 acquisition of NBCUniversal by Comcast. NBC Sports Regional Networks' business and master control operations are based in Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
Liberty Global Ltd. is a British-Dutch-American multinational telecommunications company domiciled in Bermuda, with headquarters in London, Amsterdam and Denver. Its respective legal names are Liberty Global Holdings Limited (UK), Liberty Global B.V. (Netherlands) and Liberty Global, Inc., with the first of these being publicly traded. It was formed in 2005 by the merger of the international arm of Liberty Media and UnitedGlobalCom (UGC).
Fuse is an American television channel owned by Fuse Media, LLC, that was originally launched in 1994 as MuchMusic USA, a localized version of the Canadian cable channel MuchMusic, owned by CHUM Limited which was also the parent company of Citytv in Toronto and was dedicated to music-based programming; the channel relaunched under its current branding in 2003. Fuse was acquired by SiTV Media in 2014 and, after merging with the Latino-oriented NuvoTV in 2015, would shift its focus to general entertainment and lifestyle programming targeting multicultural young adults.
Charter Communications, Inc., is an American telecommunications and mass media company with services branded as Spectrum. The company is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut.
Comcast Cable Communications, LLC, doing business as Xfinity, is an American telecommunications business segment and division of the Comcast Corporation. It is used to market consumer cable television, internet, telephone, and wireless services provided by the company. The brand was first introduced in 2010; prior to that, these services were marketed primarily under the Comcast name.
Andre O’Neal Harrell was an American record executive, media proprietor, and former rapper. He formed the short-lived East Coast hip hop duo Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde with Alonzo Brown in 1980; they signed with Profile Records the following year. After disbanding in 1986, he founded the record label Uptown Records that same year, which saw commercial success in contemporary R&B, new jack swing, and hip hop music releases into the coming decade. The label entered a distribution deal with MCA Records and signed artists including Jodeci, Heavy D & the Boyz, Mary J. Blige, Guy, and Al B. Sure, as well as then-unknowns the Notorious B.I.G. and Puff Daddy, among others. He is credited with discovering and giving the latter his start in the industry in 1990. Harrell was later appointed as CEO of Motown from 1995 to 1997.
TV One is an American basic cable television channel targeting African American adults. It is owned by Urban One, and headquartered in Silver Spring, Maryland. Originally launched as a joint venture with Comcast, Urban One would acquire the former's stake in 2015.
MTV Live is a 24-hour American pay television music video channel owned by Paramount Global. The channel, which broadcasts exclusively in 1080i high definition and 5.1 surround sound, broadcasts music videos and music-related programming from Paramount owned networks MTV, MTV Classic, VH1 and CMT, along with other concert and live music programming from outside producers.
The discography of American rapper Sean Combs consists of five studio albums, two collaborative albums, one remix album and seventy-two singles – including thirty-three as a lead artist and thirty-nine as a featured artist.
UPC Nederland was the second largest cable operator in the Netherlands, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers.
Viceland is a brand used for television channels owned and programmed by Vice Media. The brand launched on February 29, 2016, with two cable channels in North America. The American version is a joint venture majority-owned by A&E Networks. A Canadian version operated as a Category A-licensed specialty channel majority-owned by Rogers Media; it was discontinued on March 31, 2018.
HGTV is an American basic cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The network primarily broadcasts reality programming related to home improvement and real estate.
Aspire TV is an American pay television channel targeting African Americans. The network was launched by Magic Johnson on June 27, 2012.
El Rey Network is a media brand founded by Robert Rodriguez on December 15, 2013, that is currently owned in a joint venture with FactoryMade Ventures.
Ziggo Holding B.V. is the largest cable operator in the Netherlands, providing digital cable television, Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers.
VodafoneZiggo Group B.V. is a Dutch joint venture between Vodafone Group Plc and Liberty Global Plc, announced in February 2016, approved by the European Commission in August 2016 and completed in December 2016.
Roma Khanna is a television and digital media executive and current executive chair of HiddenLight Productions. She has previously served as the CEO of Revolt TV, as President of Global Networks at NBCUniversal, and as the president of the TV and digital divisions at MGM Studios.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
