Америкалық қара телеарнасының тарихы

Former United States television network

Urban America Television (UATV) was an over the air television broadcast network in the United States targeted towards Black Americans. According to the company's website, the network had 70 affiliate stations. UATV claimed to have had a reach of 22 million households in the United States. It was a successor to the earlier American Independent Television network and began broadcasting December 3, 2001. Created and developed by Fred Hutton (among others) the early programming featured independent produced programs, along with 1930s and 1940s public domain race films. The company was the only minority certified television network with the National Minority Supplier Development Council.

The network aired some original programming, along with films and older sitcoms and dramas. Some programming was also syndicated in markets without UATV stations, but most of its affiliate base was in densely populated metropolitan areas.

According to its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Urban America Television experienced liquidity needs which severely hampered its ability to continue operations, and eventually lost the ability to pay for satellite and uplinking services, along with master control at the network level, effectively curbing the network's operations any further. As a result, on May 1, 2006, Urban America Television suspended all operations indefinitely, eventually hoping to return if refinancing allowed it to return to the air, though this never occurred. In response to UATV's unexpected termination, many affiliates were forced to find alternative sources of programming. Competing networks such as America One and 3ABN benefited from the failure of UATV, and stations such as WUHQ LP in Grand Rapids, Michigan and WONS LP in Olean, New York, simply changed to other minor networks. The digital age and the rise of subchannel networks with a much higher quality selection of programming and on air production, including Bounce TV, also did in the majority of pre digital minor networks, a fate likely to have befallen UATV even if survived into the digital age.

Though for all intents and purposes it has long left the air and is unlikely to return, an outside party purchased the remaining assets of UATV in 2012, attempting a new Black broadcast network concept called "Punch TV", and that parent company continues to trade publicly promoting UATV's return in various forums, albeit as a flat penny stock. As of 2018 however, this effort has resulted only in a low distributed network under the Punch TV name with very little original programming made up mostly of public domain and brokered content, much of it in no way pertaining to Black American viewers or containing performers and actors of Black descent, such as the Canadian procedural drama Cold Squad. It only has scattered low power station distribution, along with a now terminated lease with Multicultural Broadcasting's KILM in the Los Angeles market, a station which effectively dissipated in September 2018 under the new ownership of Ion Media (KILM already shared the bandwidth of Ion's KPXN TV under a channel share agreement) and became a simulcast of Ion Life/Plus, as was done with similar Ion arrangements (Multicultural terminated the Punch lease in August 2018). Other than that, the only signs of life for the network (which is not under the UATV name) have been required SEC filings, announcements of new corporate and creative officers, and occasional lifts in the penny stock's trading. In the summer of 2019, it rebranded again, as URBT TV.

City of license / market Call sign Channel Current status Little Rock, AR KJLR LP 28 Defunct, license cancelled in 2013 Dothan, AL WJJN LP 5 Retro TV affiliate owned by Wilson Broadcasting Huntsville, AL WXFL LD 5 NewsNet owned and operated (O&O) by Bridge Media Networks Mobile, AL WBQP CA 12 TheGrio affiliate owned by Vernon Watson Fresno, CA KSDI LP 33 HmongTV affiliate KJEO LD, owned by Cocola Broadcasting San Luis Obispo, CA KCCE LP 50 Defunct, license cancelled San Luis Obispo, CA KSSY LP 66 Defunct, license cancelled in 2010 West Palm Beach, FL WWCI CA 32 NTD America affiliate owned by Innovate Corp. East Bernstadt–London, KY WOBZ LD 9 AMGTV affiliate WBON LD, owned by Wallingford Broadcasting Baton Rouge, LA KBTR CA 41 This TV affiliate owned by the Manship family Lafayette, LA KXKW CA 21 NewsNet affiliate owned by Delta Media Corporation Detroit, MI WHNE LP 26 TheGrio affiliate owned by Bridge Media Networks Sault Ste. Marie, MI WLLZ LP 12 MyNetworkTV/Cozi TV affiliate WXII LD, owned by Bridge Media Networks Jackson, MS WBXK CA 8 Defunct, license cancelled in 2013 Jackson, MS WJXF LP 49 Defunct, license cancelled in 2011 Olean, NY WONS LP 25 NOST affiliate WVTT CD, owned by Innovate Corp. Cincinnati, OH WOTH LP 25 Defunct, license cancelled in 2018 Charleston, SC WJNI LP 42 YTA TV affiliate owned by Norsan Media Chattanooga, TN WYHB CA 39 Defunct, license cancelled in 2019 Dallas–Fort Worth, TX KHPK LP 28 All infomercial independent owned by Innovate Corp. Charlotte Amalie, USVI WCVI TV 23 CBS/ABC affiliate owned by Lilly Broadcasting