Black News Channel co-founder, CEO Bob Brillante steps down two months after national launch
Byron Dobson
Bob Brillante, co-founder and CEO of the Black News Channel, a national cable news network based in Tallahassee, has left the operation.
The departure, made public Friday evening by the network in a three-paragraph news release, said Brillante is leaving "to pursue other opportunities."
It comes two months after the network made it national launch, following several postponements.
Brillante, a resident of Tallahassee with an extensive background in broadcast management, co-founded the network with former U.S. Rep. J.C. Watts, Jr., who serves as its chairman.
"Bob has been with BNC from its inception and has helped nurture this network from the seeds of an idea to the reality of launching a culturally specific news network focused on the diverse perspectives of the African American community," Watts said in the release. "We are all grateful for his efforts and his sacrifice, and we wish him well in his future endeavors."
Watts, who has been splitting his time between Oklahoma and Florida, will serve as interim CEO until a replacement is announced.
Brillante was not available Sunday for comment.
The Black News Channel made its national launch on Feb. 10 from its multi-million-dollar network operations center and studio facilities off Killearn Center Boulevard in northeast Tallahassee.
Watts and Brillante had been working on bringing the network to fruition for more than a decade.
Last October, Jacksonville Jaguars owner and billionaire businessman Shahid "Shad" Khan announced he's the majority investor in the network, which promises to capture an audience hungry for news and information targeting black viewers.
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Khan's announcement came before what was to be the original Nov. 15, 2019 launch, which was then moved to Jan. 6, 2020.
But that didn't happen and was pushed back to Feb. 10.
At that time, Brillante told Tallahassee Democrat management needed more time to secure distribution rights that will boost its initial projected audience reach of 23 million satellite TV households and 10 million cable TV households to new projections of 75 million viewers, including smartphone users.
BNC can be viewed on Spectrum, Xfinity X-1, and The Roku Channel. Additional distribution platforms will be announced in the coming weeks, the release said.
Earlier in his career, Brillante served as executive vice president of the Florida Cable Telecommunications Association. While working at the association, he co-developed the idea for the Sunshine Network, an all-sports cable program network for Florida, which was headquartered in Orlando, Florida.
After 14 years with the Florida Cable Telecommunications Association, Brillante in 1998 launched Florida's News Channel, a statewide 24-hour cable news network based in Tallahassee.
It went off the air in 2005.
Contact senior writer Byron Dobson at bdobson@tallahassee.com or on Twitter @byrondobson.
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Xfinity X! offers BNC for free
Black News Channel, along with more than 24 entertainment networks, are now free to Xfinity X1 and Flex customers through at least the end of April.
To access any of the new content, customers simply say: Black News Channel" into their Xfinity Voice Remote – or they can say "Free" and all of the different networks will come up on the screen for them to choose from.