1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:03,440 Speaker 1: You've mentioned a couple risks you took there in that story, 2 00:00:03,920 --> 00:00:05,360 Speaker 1: and it sounds to me, and I want you to 3 00:00:05,360 --> 00:00:06,880 Speaker 1: correct me if I'm wrong, but it sounds to me 4 00:00:07,000 --> 00:00:09,640 Speaker 1: like you were more you were more focused. I needed 5 00:00:09,680 --> 00:00:11,560 Speaker 1: to get this in front of as many people as possible, 6 00:00:11,560 --> 00:00:13,920 Speaker 1: and the ownership might have been secondary, but was the 7 00:00:13,960 --> 00:00:14,960 Speaker 1: ownership forefront. 8 00:00:16,040 --> 00:00:18,119 Speaker 2: No, it was the same. They want to stay on 9 00:00:18,120 --> 00:00:22,640 Speaker 2: the same level. So I understood. Again, I understood, the 10 00:00:22,680 --> 00:00:26,840 Speaker 2: audience was there, the money was there, and this is 11 00:00:26,880 --> 00:00:29,600 Speaker 2: I mean, this is This was the literal conversation I 12 00:00:29,600 --> 00:00:32,040 Speaker 2: had with Mark Watts, and again it was This was 13 00:00:32,200 --> 00:00:36,400 Speaker 2: June twenty eighteen. We had met in March twenty eighteen. 14 00:00:36,520 --> 00:00:41,800 Speaker 2: We had come off doing the MK the fiftieth anniversary 15 00:00:41,880 --> 00:00:45,040 Speaker 2: of his assassination, and what was interesting about that I'll 16 00:00:45,040 --> 00:00:48,720 Speaker 2: never forget. So the show gets canceled in December December, 17 00:00:48,760 --> 00:00:51,599 Speaker 2: I think it was December nineth, twenty seventeen, and so 18 00:00:52,479 --> 00:00:55,840 Speaker 2: the fiftieth was April fourth, and we had already shot 19 00:00:55,880 --> 00:01:01,040 Speaker 2: some stuff and I was like, Hey, I'm sending them emails, Hey, 20 00:01:01,040 --> 00:01:02,200 Speaker 2: are we gonna do that, We're gonna do this, We're 21 00:01:02,200 --> 00:01:03,920 Speaker 2: gonna We're gonna do this and we're gonna do this, 22 00:01:04,680 --> 00:01:07,160 Speaker 2: and I wasn't getting any feedback. Yeah, so I just 23 00:01:07,240 --> 00:01:09,520 Speaker 2: had it on my own to spend thirty grand of 24 00:01:09,560 --> 00:01:12,640 Speaker 2: my own money, and I flew to Stanford to interview 25 00:01:12,640 --> 00:01:15,960 Speaker 2: with Clarence Jones, doctor King's attorney. I went to had 26 00:01:15,959 --> 00:01:19,120 Speaker 2: a speech in Buffalo, and then I then went to Ithaca, 27 00:01:19,160 --> 00:01:21,520 Speaker 2: New York and sat out with Dorothy Cotton. I went 28 00:01:21,520 --> 00:01:25,280 Speaker 2: to Memphis to meet with Sam Bill Lucy, and I 29 00:01:25,319 --> 00:01:29,240 Speaker 2: scheduled all these different interviews and funded them, funded them 30 00:01:29,240 --> 00:01:34,000 Speaker 2: myself because I understood the importance of the stories. But 31 00:01:34,080 --> 00:01:37,160 Speaker 2: here was the other thing I now had that it's 32 00:01:37,319 --> 00:01:41,399 Speaker 2: library content. And so what then happens is when I'm 33 00:01:41,400 --> 00:01:46,080 Speaker 2: meeting with them, they're not committing to covering stuff. So 34 00:01:46,160 --> 00:01:48,880 Speaker 2: I was like, all right, and this is what I 35 00:01:48,920 --> 00:01:51,640 Speaker 2: told Mark Marcus, my fraternity brother. We go back to 36 00:01:51,680 --> 00:01:54,120 Speaker 2: when I was in high school senior. I said to Marc. 37 00:01:54,160 --> 00:01:58,600 Speaker 2: I said, Mark, I'm forty nine years old, I said, 38 00:01:58,600 --> 00:02:02,240 Speaker 2: and I am at. 39 00:02:01,200 --> 00:02:02,960 Speaker 3: The peak of this is how I looked at it, 40 00:02:03,040 --> 00:02:03,840 Speaker 3: the peak. 41 00:02:03,640 --> 00:02:15,080 Speaker 2: Of knowledge, relationships, experience, and energy. And I said, if 42 00:02:15,200 --> 00:02:18,919 Speaker 2: I don't do this right now, I don't know if 43 00:02:19,080 --> 00:02:21,440 Speaker 2: I said what about don't do it now, I likely 44 00:02:21,520 --> 00:02:26,120 Speaker 2: never will and I don't know if anybody black who 45 00:02:26,200 --> 00:02:28,000 Speaker 2: is who is willing to do this. 46 00:02:28,639 --> 00:02:29,639 Speaker 3: So I have to do this. 47 00:02:30,960 --> 00:02:35,799 Speaker 2: So I understood there was a business there. I understood 48 00:02:35,840 --> 00:02:39,040 Speaker 2: there was an audience there. But the old added, if 49 00:02:39,040 --> 00:02:41,160 Speaker 2: you build it, they will come. That it had to happen. 50 00:02:41,360 --> 00:02:44,400 Speaker 2: Somebody had to make the decision, so I didn't. It 51 00:02:44,440 --> 00:02:46,919 Speaker 2: wasn't about, hey, let's try to go people like man, 52 00:02:46,960 --> 00:02:49,520 Speaker 2: I wish you go back to seeing an MSNBC no interest, 53 00:02:50,280 --> 00:02:52,280 Speaker 2: because here was a lesson I learned even there. 54 00:02:53,320 --> 00:02:54,639 Speaker 3: Now I was at the CNN. 55 00:02:55,200 --> 00:02:58,440 Speaker 2: They couldn't get anybody to interview Winnie Mandela. She was 56 00:02:58,480 --> 00:03:00,359 Speaker 2: coming to town at Birmingham, Alabama. 57 00:03:00,200 --> 00:03:00,919 Speaker 3: So they came to me. 58 00:03:01,360 --> 00:03:04,440 Speaker 2: I was like, yeah, sure, so I go to Birmingham 59 00:03:04,680 --> 00:03:07,720 Speaker 2: interview winning Mandela had about twenty twenty five minutes. So 60 00:03:07,840 --> 00:03:11,000 Speaker 2: a week later I get a phone call and they go, hey, 61 00:03:12,040 --> 00:03:13,080 Speaker 2: this is people in Atlanta. 62 00:03:13,960 --> 00:03:15,000 Speaker 3: We're look at the interview. 63 00:03:15,200 --> 00:03:18,400 Speaker 2: Why didn't you ask her about the trial and this 64 00:03:18,480 --> 00:03:20,359 Speaker 2: and this? And I said, why the hell, y'all an interview? 65 00:03:21,800 --> 00:03:25,239 Speaker 2: I asked her what I wanted to ask her. I said, 66 00:03:25,240 --> 00:03:28,040 Speaker 2: why the hell y'all donna ask your They then said, 67 00:03:28,440 --> 00:03:30,280 Speaker 2: we're not going to run the interview. 68 00:03:31,600 --> 00:03:32,320 Speaker 3: I said, okay. 69 00:03:32,680 --> 00:03:34,920 Speaker 2: I went to John Klein, it was a president seeing 70 00:03:34,960 --> 00:03:37,520 Speaker 2: in US, and went to his office, said, Hey, your 71 00:03:37,520 --> 00:03:40,440 Speaker 2: folks in Atlanta ain't gonna run the Winni Mandela interview, 72 00:03:40,600 --> 00:03:42,920 Speaker 2: So can you just give it to me, give me Privige, 73 00:03:42,920 --> 00:03:44,640 Speaker 2: give it to me, and I'm going to run it 74 00:03:44,680 --> 00:03:45,680 Speaker 2: on my TV one show. 75 00:03:45,760 --> 00:03:46,960 Speaker 3: John's like, yeah, cool. 76 00:03:47,600 --> 00:03:50,040 Speaker 2: I went to When I went to DC, we went 77 00:03:50,080 --> 00:03:53,320 Speaker 2: to the CNN bureau, they dubbed the interview over because 78 00:03:53,320 --> 00:03:55,320 Speaker 2: it was on this different tape. 79 00:03:55,720 --> 00:03:56,320 Speaker 3: Hand to us. 80 00:03:56,440 --> 00:03:58,360 Speaker 2: We ran it on the show and here's the deal. 81 00:03:58,760 --> 00:04:02,440 Speaker 2: March twenty eighteen, I'm in Memphis, one month before the assassin, 82 00:04:02,760 --> 00:04:07,800 Speaker 2: the Commemorational Assassination. Winnie Mandela dies and I'm there and 83 00:04:07,960 --> 00:04:10,840 Speaker 2: I hit my guy. I said, we're gonna restream it. 84 00:04:11,040 --> 00:04:14,960 Speaker 2: I interviewed Reverend Jesse Jackson Senior. I interviewed Randall Randall 85 00:04:15,040 --> 00:04:19,400 Speaker 2: Robinson about Winnie Mandela, and we restreamed that. The only 86 00:04:19,600 --> 00:04:24,880 Speaker 2: reason you can see my interview with Winnie Mandela was 87 00:04:24,920 --> 00:04:29,880 Speaker 2: because I had a black on media platform where I 88 00:04:29,960 --> 00:04:33,680 Speaker 2: could air it and if I didn't have that to 89 00:04:33,960 --> 00:04:37,120 Speaker 2: this seeing in. That thing will be sitting on a 90 00:04:37,200 --> 00:04:39,680 Speaker 2: tape on the shelf at Seeing Inn. 91 00:04:40,120 --> 00:04:41,560 Speaker 3: And no one has ever seen it. 92 00:04:41,839 --> 00:04:45,559 Speaker 2: And that's the difference when you first of all own 93 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:49,839 Speaker 2: a platform to be able to distribute a message. 94 00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:52,600 Speaker 1: Man, there's so much there. I want to dig in. 95 00:04:52,680 --> 00:04:54,440 Speaker 1: I want to lay a little bit more foundation first. 96 00:04:54,480 --> 00:04:56,880 Speaker 1: So all right, you decide I'm going to do this 97 00:04:56,920 --> 00:04:59,720 Speaker 1: on my own. For the people out there who are 98 00:04:59,720 --> 00:05:00,760 Speaker 1: saying no, no. 99 00:05:00,160 --> 00:05:02,720 Speaker 3: No, no, I no no. I didn't decide something did 100 00:05:02,800 --> 00:05:03,240 Speaker 3: on my own. 101 00:05:04,040 --> 00:05:11,120 Speaker 2: I went to every major black media company, and none 102 00:05:11,160 --> 00:05:12,200 Speaker 2: of it wanted to partner. 103 00:05:13,720 --> 00:05:16,600 Speaker 3: I went to them. I understood the business. This is. 104 00:05:16,760 --> 00:05:18,640 Speaker 2: This is sort of how I saw. First of all, 105 00:05:18,839 --> 00:05:21,039 Speaker 2: you gotta take it back even further. I had the 106 00:05:21,080 --> 00:05:24,960 Speaker 2: TV one show I had heard. I was talking to 107 00:05:24,960 --> 00:05:28,640 Speaker 2: people that that that that the show was in jeopardy 108 00:05:29,560 --> 00:05:32,479 Speaker 2: and I said, okay, so I simply proposal. And so 109 00:05:32,680 --> 00:05:35,480 Speaker 2: here's what happened. I was see, this is why you 110 00:05:35,480 --> 00:05:37,880 Speaker 2: have to be a student of the business. So I'm 111 00:05:37,920 --> 00:05:41,240 Speaker 2: sitting here and I'm like, okay, you know, how can 112 00:05:41,279 --> 00:05:43,640 Speaker 2: we re engineer this, how can we look at this differently? 113 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:47,240 Speaker 2: And so remember dish Nation. I was sitting there and 114 00:05:47,560 --> 00:05:50,040 Speaker 2: I was watching it, and this when Ricky Spider was 115 00:05:50,040 --> 00:05:52,560 Speaker 2: a part of it, and so it was airing on 116 00:05:52,640 --> 00:05:58,760 Speaker 2: TV one. But then I saw dish Nation was online. 117 00:05:59,640 --> 00:06:01,640 Speaker 3: So we went to our affiliate person. I said, I 118 00:06:01,640 --> 00:06:04,599 Speaker 3: got a question for you. It's I'm curious, how is 119 00:06:04,680 --> 00:06:05,240 Speaker 3: this nation? 120 00:06:06,120 --> 00:06:09,040 Speaker 2: Because I knew that we couldn't stream we had limits 121 00:06:09,040 --> 00:06:11,800 Speaker 2: of what we could stream online eight on TV one. 122 00:06:11,960 --> 00:06:14,279 Speaker 3: I said, how are we able to do this? And 123 00:06:14,320 --> 00:06:18,640 Speaker 3: they said, oh, we have the cable rights. So you got. 124 00:06:18,640 --> 00:06:24,280 Speaker 2: Cable rights, got broadcast rights, you've got digital rights. 125 00:06:24,440 --> 00:06:26,839 Speaker 3: And then of course international rights are separate. They said, 126 00:06:26,880 --> 00:06:29,560 Speaker 3: but we have the cable rights. That's why it's online. 127 00:06:29,600 --> 00:06:33,279 Speaker 3: And I went bingo. So this is what I did. 128 00:06:34,000 --> 00:06:38,279 Speaker 2: I put a proposal together and I said, okay, the 129 00:06:38,400 --> 00:06:42,360 Speaker 2: problem that we have with News one now is that 130 00:06:42,640 --> 00:06:43,680 Speaker 2: it's on TV one. 131 00:06:44,279 --> 00:06:46,640 Speaker 3: We're not marketing it outside the channel. 132 00:06:47,400 --> 00:06:53,200 Speaker 2: We have a loyal audience, but it's too small and 133 00:06:51,800 --> 00:06:55,760 Speaker 2: they were doing a million advertising a year. The show 134 00:06:55,880 --> 00:07:00,320 Speaker 2: was costing forty five million. So I said okay, and 135 00:07:00,360 --> 00:07:02,719 Speaker 2: I knew there was a digital audience. So the proposal 136 00:07:02,760 --> 00:07:07,160 Speaker 2: I sent them was why don't y'all let me take 137 00:07:07,279 --> 00:07:13,600 Speaker 2: ownership of the show. I'm gonna make it a digital shown. 138 00:07:14,080 --> 00:07:16,640 Speaker 2: You can pay me, so it was costing you five 139 00:07:17,280 --> 00:07:20,960 Speaker 2: you can pay me a licensing fee of three point 140 00:07:21,040 --> 00:07:25,440 Speaker 2: five three or two point five million. I will produce 141 00:07:25,560 --> 00:07:29,720 Speaker 2: the show, and we have a partnership where we're able 142 00:07:29,760 --> 00:07:35,080 Speaker 2: to sell the digital sell piece. You already have the infrastructure, 143 00:07:35,560 --> 00:07:38,800 Speaker 2: and then that can be a rev share. They never 144 00:07:38,920 --> 00:07:43,040 Speaker 2: responded to the proposal. The show gets canceled. When I 145 00:07:43,080 --> 00:07:46,560 Speaker 2: decided to launch this, I gave them another proposal. Why 146 00:07:46,560 --> 00:07:49,760 Speaker 2: don't you I got to Radio one, Why don't you 147 00:07:49,880 --> 00:07:53,640 Speaker 2: partner with me with what I'm launching. I said, you 148 00:07:53,720 --> 00:07:58,240 Speaker 2: can invest five hundred thousand, and this is what I'm 149 00:07:58,240 --> 00:08:00,560 Speaker 2: gonna do. This is what I'm gonna deliver. We could 150 00:08:00,600 --> 00:08:03,800 Speaker 2: do a rampsure on the advertising, no interest. I talked 151 00:08:03,840 --> 00:08:04,720 Speaker 2: to Black Enterprise. 152 00:08:05,640 --> 00:08:07,920 Speaker 3: I talked to Rich Dennis over at Essence. 153 00:08:08,840 --> 00:08:11,480 Speaker 2: I remember Morgan and I had a conversation at Blavity, 154 00:08:12,400 --> 00:08:14,080 Speaker 2: I remember, and that was just but it was just. 155 00:08:14,600 --> 00:08:15,280 Speaker 3: And I talked to. 156 00:08:15,320 --> 00:08:19,920 Speaker 2: Numerous people because I understood all of these entities already 157 00:08:19,960 --> 00:08:23,880 Speaker 2: had the AD infrastructure. They had the AD infrastructure the 158 00:08:23,960 --> 00:08:25,720 Speaker 2: back in infrastructure, and. 159 00:08:25,640 --> 00:08:28,040 Speaker 3: That none of them were even doing what I was doing. 160 00:08:28,960 --> 00:08:32,440 Speaker 2: So my deal was, this is the value add proposition. 161 00:08:32,960 --> 00:08:35,800 Speaker 2: You need to be able to sell more units, and 162 00:08:35,880 --> 00:08:39,240 Speaker 2: so here's how we can utilize streaming. Nobody wanted to partner, 163 00:08:39,600 --> 00:08:41,720 Speaker 2: so I said, okay, I'm gonna do it, and I 164 00:08:41,800 --> 00:08:45,120 Speaker 2: went ahead and did it myself. But I wasn't but 165 00:08:45,200 --> 00:08:48,960 Speaker 2: I was trying to find a black media partner and 166 00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:51,400 Speaker 2: no one wanted to and so I said, okay, I'm 167 00:08:51,400 --> 00:08:52,920 Speaker 2: gonna go ahead and do it, and that's what we did.