Disney-ABC Sells 'Black-ish' for Fall 2018 Debut

Disney-ABC has sold black-ish in a multi-platform distribution window, the company said Tuesday.

The show will launch in syndication on television stations in fall 2018 and both FX Networks and BET Networks have acquired a non-exclusive shared cable window starting at that time. Black-ish also has been sold in an exclusive streaming deal to subscription video on demand (SVOD) platform Hulu, where the show has been airing since January.

Tribune is the broadcast launch group for black-ish, which is sold in more than 90% of the U.S. Other station groups that have acquired the show include CBS, Sinclair, Nexstar, Gray, Raycom, E.W. Scripps, Tegna and Cox.

FX Networks has the option to air the show on either FX or FXX, which will be determined closer to air date.

BET also will begin airing the show starting in fall 2018.

“We’re excited to partner with Disney/ABC in bringing this bold and beloved series to our audience,” said Debra Lee, chairman and CEO of BET Networks, in a statement. “Black-ish has an incredible track record of crossing cultural lines and reflecting the universality of African-American life. We’re thrilled to be part of its continued journey.” 

Black-ish stars Anthony Anderson, Tracee Ellis Ross, Laurence Fishburne, Yara Shahidi, Marcus Scribner, Miles Brown, Marsai Martin, Jenifer Lewis and Peter Mackenzie. The series was created by Kenya Barris and is executive produced by Barris, Jonathan Groff, Anthony Anderson, Laurence Fishburne, Helen Sugland, E. Brian Dobbins and Corey Nickerson. Black-ish, just concluding its third season, is produced by ABC Studios and airs Wednesdays at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.

Paige Albiniak

Contributing editor Paige Albiniak has been covering the business of television for more than 25 years. She is a longtime contributor to Next TV, Broadcasting + Cable and Multichannel News. She concurrently serves as editorial director for The Global Entertainment Marketing Academy of Arts & Sciences (G.E.M.A.). She has written for such publications as TVNewsCheck, The New York Post, Variety, CBS Watch and more. Albiniak was B+C’s Los Angeles bureau chief from September 2002 to 2004, and an associate editor covering Congress and lobbying for the magazine in Washington, D.C., from January 1997 - September 2002.