What benefit will health care reform be if doctors will be unwilling or unable to accept new paitents covered by a government health care plan?  See the results of the poll at http://theasmd.org/asmd-resources/presentations/survey1/.

CONTACT:
Pamela Mantis 877-4MY-BTNC
Fax: (202) 207-2853
Release@btnc.tv

CAROL H. WILLIAMS ADVERTISING
JOINS THE TEAM AT BLACK TELEVISION NEWS CHANNEL

Washington, DC — Black Television News Channel (BTNC), which is scheduled to launch the nation’s only African American news network in 2010, announced today a long-term partnership with Carol H. Williams Advertising (CHWA), a leading marketing firm that specializes in African American and urban advertising. CHWA will be a minority stakeholder in the new network, and will exclusively handle BTNC’s advertising, marketing and PR services.

CHWA (www.carolhwilliams.com) is the largest independent advertising agency in the country that is 100% minority- and woman-owned. Founded in 1986, CHWA has offices in Oakland, California, Chicago, and New York and provides advertising and marketing services to Fortune 500 clients, including General Mills, Gilead Sciences, HP, Nationwide Insurance, Procter & Gamble, The Walt Disney Company and several others. CHWA serves the needs of all advertisers, but specializes in developing integrated strategic marketing plans and innovative advertising for the African American and urban markets. Past telecom clients include FX Network, Universal Studios Home Entertainment, The Disney Channel, Cingular Wireless, PacBell and SBC. In 2008, Advertising Age reported that CHWA developed the No. 1-rated TV commercial for the previous year among all general consumers.

“The Black Television News Channel represents another major indicator of the strength, viability, size and scope of the ever-growing African American market,” said Carol H. Williams, President, CEO and Chief Creative Officer of CHWA. “We believe that BTNC will meet a real need in the market for both consumers and advertisers. We are excited about the opportunity to leverage our expertise to support the network’s mission to provide quality media.”

BTNC (www.btnc.tv) will construct the first coast-to-coast all high-definition television newsgathering infrastructure with its network operations center located in Washington, D.C. Black Television News Channel will be the nation’s only provider of 24/7 cable news programming dedicated to covering the unique perspective of African American communities. BTNC will provide access to information and educational programming to meet the specific needs of this growing and dynamic community, which is a major consumer of subscription television services. BTNC will provide a new voice that represents African Americans in mainstream media and fosters political, economic, and social discourse, and programming will shed light on the unique social, economic, and political challenges facing urban communities. BTNC is the endeavor of J.C. Watts, Jr., former U.S. congressman from Oklahoma and celebrated athlete, and broadcast and cable news veterans.

“I am very excited about the partnership between CHWA and BTNC. I believe the many synergies created by our two companies working together will give the network a powerful voice for the African American community,” said Watts.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:              FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Angela Sailor, Media Relations                                     April 14, 2008

Ph:    (202) – 207-2854

Fax: (202) – 207-2853

asailor@btnc.tv

BLACK TELEVISION NEWS CHANNEL

ANNOUNCES CARRIAGE AGREEMENT WITH COMCAST

Washington, DC — April 14, 2008 — Black Television News Channel (BTNC), the nation’s only African-American news network, scheduled to launch in 2009, today announced a multi-year carriage agreement with Comcast (CMCSA, CMCSK), the country’s leading provider of cable, entertainment and communications products and services.  Under the agreement, BTNC expects that it will be added to Comcast systems in the following key African American markets: Philadelphia, Chicago, Detroit, Washington, D.C., Atlanta and Baltimore.

BTNC will be a 24/7 cable news network that provides original news programming with a distinctly African-American perspective, and therefore helps fill a major gap in today’s media.  BTNC is the endeavor of J.C. Watts, Jr., former U.S. congressman from Oklahoma and celebrated athlete, and broadcast and cable news veterans.  

“Our unique and vast content partnerships with African American newsmakers will provide our viewers LIVE access to the stories and people in whom our viewers have a special interest,” said Watts. “With this agreement, Comcast continues to demonstrate its commitment to working with independent programmers with diverse points of view.”

BTNC will construct the first coast-to-coast all high-definition television newsgathering infrastructure with its network operations center located in Washington, DC.

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About BTNC

Black Television News Channel will be the nation’s only provider of 24/7 cable news programming dedicated to covering the unique perspective of African American communities.  BTNC will provide access to information and educational programming to meet the specific needs of this growing and dynamic community, which is a major consumer of subscription television services.  BTNC will provide a new voice that represents African Americans in mainstream media and fosters political, economic, and social discourse.  BTNC’s programming will shed light on the unique social, economic, and political challenges facing urban communities and help close the “image gap” that exists today between the negative African American stereotypes perpetuated by mainstream media news and our enterprising black communities.