Byron Allen’s ‘The Grio Television Network’ Launches News Block Featuring Eboni K. Williams And Marc Lamont Hill
LOS ANGELES – Allen Media Group’s African American-focused news, lifestyle, sports and entertainment platform theGrio (www.thegrio.com) is proud to announce the launch of THE GRIO WITH EBONI K. WILLIAMS and THE GRIO WITH MARC LAMONT HILL on Monday, October 24, 2022. The daily two-hour news block from America’s largest Black newsroom will feature critical news and information in the U.S. and around the world. Reaching over 50 million television households, plus 250 million device users, these two news programs will also be available on demand via the TheGrio Streaming App. Hosted by lawyer, author and television personality Eboni K. Williams and author, activist, and scholar Marc Lamont Hill, each one-hour program brings a unique perspective and analysis of world news and events.
Eboni K. Williams is an American lawyer, author and television host. She currently hosts and is executive producer of the Warner Music Group podcast HOLDING COURT WITH EBONI K. WILLIAMS. In addition to guest hosting ABC’s THE VIEW, Williams previously co-hosted the late-night talk show STATE OF THE CULTURE on Revolt TV and was host and executive producer of REVOLT BLACK NEWS. Williams also starred on season 13 of the Bravo series THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF NEW YORK CITY, becoming the show’s first Black cast member ever. Her new book, BET ON BLACK: THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT BEING BLACK IN AMERICA will be published in 2023. Williams is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Loyola University New Orleans College of Law.
Marc Lamont Hill is an award-winning journalist, author, scholar, commentator, and television host. He has been named one of the 100 Most Influential Black Leaders by Ebony magazine and The Root 100. As a social activist, he has led numerous campaigns to free political prisoners and stop executions. For more than 16 years, Hill has been a staple in mainstream media, offering incisive political commentary on television outlets including CNN, BET, and Fox News. Mr. Hill has also been the host of multiple programs, including BET NEWS, OUR WORLD WITH BLACK ENTERPRISE, UPFRONT, VH1 LIVE, and HUFFPOST LIVE. He is the author of seven books, including the New York Times bestseller NOBODY. A noted scholar, Marc Lamont Hill holds a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania and is currently a professor of media studies at Temple University.
“Eboni K. Williams and Marc Lamont Hill are extremely talented, very smart, and will bring much-needed new voices to the global conversation,” said Byron Allen, Founder/Chairman/CEO of Allen Media Group. “The Grio News has a strong and trusted relationship with the Black community. Allen Media Group is committed to investing heavily in The Grio, working with the best talent, and increasing our worldwide distribution as we continue to deliver excellence.”
“I am thrilled to join The Grio and lead a show that centers Black culture and directly speaks to what our people need to know relating to the American legal system,” said host Eboni K. Williams. “We know the system is rigged, but each night I’ll give the people what they need to know in order to successfully navigate it and relentlessly pursue justice.”
“This is an exciting time to be launching these bold new shows,” said Marc Lamont Hill. “Given the current social, political, and economic climate, we have an opportunity to provide programming that informs, inspires, and empowers our community. Our goal is not to play nice, but to tell the truth from our perspective.”
About Allen Media Group
Chairman and CEO Byron Allen founded Allen Media Group/Entertainment Studios in 1993. Headquartered in Los Angeles, it has offices in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, and Charleston, SC. Allen Media Group owns 27 ABC-NBC-CBS-FOX network affiliate broadcast television stations in 21 U.S. markets and twelve 24-hour HD television networks serving nearly 220 million subscribers: THE WEATHER CHANNEL, THE WEATHER CHANNEL EN ESPAÑOL, PETS.TV, COMEDY.TV, RECIPE.TV, CARS.TV, ES.TV, MYDESTINATION.TV, JUSTICE CENTRAL.TV, THEGRIO, THIS TV, and PATTRN. Allen Media Group also owns the streaming platforms HBCU GO, SPORTS.TV, THEGRIO, THE WEATHER CHANNEL STREAMING APP and LOCAL NOW–the free-streaming AVOD service powered by THE WEATHER CHANNEL and content partners, which delivers real-time, hyper-local news, weather, traffic, sports, and lifestyle information. Allen Media Group also produces, distributes, and sells advertising for 69 television programs, making it one of the largest independent producers/distributors of first-run syndicated television programming for broadcast television stations. With a library of over 5,000 hours of owned content across multiple genres, Allen Media Group provides video content to broadcast television stations, cable television networks, mobile devices, and multimedia digital. Our mission is to provide excellent programming to our viewers, online users, and Fortune 500 advertising partners.
Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures is a full-service, theatrical motion picture distribution company specializing in wide release commercial content. ESMP released 2017’s highest-grossing independent movie, the shark thriller 47 METERS DOWN, which grossed over $44.3 million. In 2018, ESMP also released the critically-acclaimed and commercially successful Western HOSTILES, the historic mystery-thriller CHAPPAQUIDDICK and the sequel to 47 METERS DOWN, 47 METERS DOWN: UNCAGED. The digital distribution unit of Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures, Freestyle Digital Media, is a premiere multi-platform distributor with direct partnerships across all major cable, digital and streaming platforms. Capitalizing on a robust infrastructure, proven track record and a veteran sales team, Freestyle Digital Media is a true home for independent films.
In 2016, Allen Media Group purchased theGrio, a highly rated digital video-centric news community platform devoted to providing African-Americans with compelling stories and perspectives currently underrepresented in existing national news outlets. TheGrio features aggregated and original video packages, news articles, and opinion pieces on topics that include breaking news, politics, health, business, and entertainment. The digital platform remains focused on curating exciting digital content and currently has more than 100 million annual visitors. TheGrio is available everywhere people consume information— on a mobile app, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, AppleTV, and now as an over-the-air television network, as well as through Comcast, Charter/Spectrum, Cox, DISH, Sling, Verizon Fios, DirecTV, and DirecTV Stream.
For more information: www.allenmedia.tv
