3-Year-Old Bounce Adds Distribution, Sponsors

Nearing its third anniversary on the air, Bounce TV says it has increased distribution and added new advertisers to its roster of sponsors.

Bounce TV, the digital multicast network aimed at African Americans that launched Sept. 26, 2011, says its newest affiliates are E.W. Scripps owned WMAR-TV in Baltimore and Journal Broadcast Group’s WSYM-TV in Lansing, Mich. The addition of the two stations brings the networks coverage to 90% of African Americans and 73% of U.S. households.

The network said that the number of advertisers buying national time in the upfront market has doubled to 35 this broadcast season.

“We’re accelerating plans on all fronts thanks to our dedicated affiliate partners, our supportive sponsors and our loyal-and-growing audience,”  Jonathan Katz (pictured), Bounce TV’s chief operating officer, said in a statement.

Bounce is beginning production in November of a new original series Mann & Wife, which is scheduled to debut in 2015. Season two of the original series Family Time premieres Oct. 14 and season three of Off the Chain, another original, launches Nov. 12.

The network also acquired a package of movies from Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. Titles in the package include Greased LightningUptown Saturday NightLet’s Do It Again and Rumble in the Bronx.

So far in September, Bounce TV’s ratings among adults 18 to 49 are up 51% and up 54% with adults 25 to 54, the network said. Household ratings are up 61%.

Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.