Since its launch in February 2020, the network has expanded rapidly into more than 52 million households. BNC has 320 employees, with 75 of them based in Atlanta.
“No final decisions have been made regarding a relocation of BNC's headquarters to Atlanta,” said BNC President & CEO Princell Hair, “but like any emerging business that is expanding rapidly, we must constantly evaluate and consider what is needed for our business to reach its full potential.”
Hair told the AJC, the rapidly growing news operation is seeking studio space in Atlanta and hopes to commit to what could end up being the network’s new headquarters within the next 12 months.
Already, three of BNC key on-air talent are based in Atlanta, working out of their homes: New York Times columnist Charles Blow, who has a weekday show at 10 p.m., and the morning team of Sharon Reed and Mike Hill. Reed last worked at CBS46 as an evening anchor while Hill had been working with Fox Sports out of Los Angeles but moved to Atlanta with his new wife Cynthia Bailey of “Real Housewives of Atlanta” fame.
“Further, if BNC were to relocate its headquarters at some point in the future, I envision maintaining an established presence here (in Tallahassee),” he added.
Hair, a former CNN and NBC Sports executive, was appointed BNC president and CEO in July 2020.
BNC was to be housed at FAMU
The Black News Channel, originally signed a signed a partnership agreement with FAMU, in 2014, and was scheduled to be housed in the a studio within the FAMU School of Journalism and Graphic Communications.
But after a series of false starts, those plans were abandoned when former interim SGJC Dean Dhyana Ziegler, pulled the plug on the deal saying she needed the space for the schools’ operations. To date, the proposed studio space BNC planned to use remains vacant.
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| Ribbon cutting event for BNC studios at FAMU. |