bdpatoday® | digital media

Google’s new office is a love letter to Atlanta

ATLANTA, GA—Google has been a part of Atlanta for more than 20 years. There are more than 1,000 full-time Google employees in Georgia — in two offices in Atlanta and a data center in Douglas County — helping to build and support our products, and help our partners and customers across the South and nationally.

We recently opened our doors to the newest office space in Midtown Atlanta at the 1105 West Peachtree building. This new Google office encompasses 19 floors spanning 500,000 square feet, and is a part of our broader investment in local communities across the U.S.

Atlanta has a rich civil rights history and is home to top Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and tech talent. Continuing our long-term investment here will help support our Black Googler community in Atlanta, in line with our racial equity commitments.

Inspired by the city’s legacy for social change, our office was designed as an homage to the people of Atlanta, with each floor an ode to Atlanta’s cultural, musical and artistic history. We worked with more than 50 local and diverse companies to design and build the new space, including artwork from more than 20 local artists.

A giant heart outlining the Google Atlanta sign greets you in the lobby. One of the staircases features a rainbow design — in support and celebration of the LGBTQ+ community — inspired by the city’s nearby rainbow crosswalks. The WERD Cafe, our Googler cafeteria, is named for the first Black-owned and programmed U.S. radio station.

The lobby is decorated with warm vibrant colors and a relaxed sitting area with music memorabilia, a record player and a boombox. The ATL office lobby greets you with a mix of fun design and an emphasis on music. From record players to boomboxes, it’s a reflection of Atlanta’s musical history.

The lobby with, vibrant colors and relaxed sitting area, greets you with a mix of fun design and an emphasis on music. From record players to boomboxes, it reflects Atlanta’s musical history.

Our commitment to Atlanta extends far beyond the walls of our new office. In 2021, Google products helped provide $13.21 billion of economic activity for tens of thousands of Georgia businesses, nonprofits, publishers, creators and developers.

Today, we’re announcing a $1 million commitment to the Urban League of Atlanta to support their work in training underserved communities throughout Georgia. This grant will help jobseekers get digital skills training and place them in high-growth jobs.

On top of this, to bring equitable opportunities to more Georgians, we’re partnering with local community organizations and universities. We’re working with HBCUs like Clark Atlanta University and Spelman College to attract top talent, and partnering with the Technical College System of Georgia to offer Google Career Certificates to 22 colleges across the state at no cost.

Lastly, we are partnering with Mayor Andre Dickens and the Atlanta BeltLine to launch the Atlanta BeltLine Marketplace, an effort to help local Black, Latino and women-owned small businesses reach new customers by retrofitting rail cars into retail space. We’re providing Wi-Fi for the rail containers, a complete suite of Google Nest products, Chromebooks and free digital skills training.

We look forward to continuing to support and partner with our customers, employees and local communities in Atlanta for years to come.

^{by Matthew Pritchard
Google Atlanta Co-Site Lead and Global Business Organization Lead}

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Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group Acquires Black News Channel for $11 Million

LOS ANGELES—Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group (AMG) is proud to announce that the Northern District of Florida, Tallahassee Division of the United States Bankruptcy Court, (Case No. 4:22-bk-40087-KKS) issued an order approving the sale of “substantially all of” Black News Channel (BNC) “assets free and clear of all liens, claims, encumbrances and interests” to AMG’s networks division. AMG is acquiring BNC out of bankruptcy for $11 million from billionaire Shahid Khan owner of the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars franchise. Khan invested over $100 million into BNC.

Byron Allen, Founder/Chairman/CEO of Allen Media Group

AMG’s acquisition of BNC will add 300 million linear and digital subscribers to the AMG portfolio of assets — which includes 12 television networks such as The Weather Channel, digital platforms Local Now, HBCU GO, Sports.TV, theGrio Streaming App and The Weather Channel Streaming App. AMG has also invested over $1 billion in the last 3 years to acquire 27 ABC–NBC–CBS–FOX network affiliate broadcast television stations nationwide.

BNC has carriage on traditional linear packages via Comcast, Charter, Cox, DISH, DirecTV, and Verizon. BNC currently enjoys approximately 45 million linear subscribers and Allen plans to grow the distribution to approximately 80 million linear subscribers over the next 6 months.

“We are excited to have been selected to acquire the Black News Channel, which has approximately 300 million linear and digital subscribers,” said Byron Allen, Founder/Chairman/CEO of Allen Media Group. “Allen Media Group will deliver a best-in-class network to serve the underserved African-American community and the advertisers who want to reach this extremely valuable audience. Also, we appreciate the opportunity to provide cable operators, satellite companies, telcos, and digital platforms diversity of ownership, voices, and viewpoints on their programming line-ups by having a 100 percent African-American owned network.”

In 2016, AMG purchased The Grio, 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. The Grio features aggregated and original video packages, news articles and opinion pieces on topics that include breaking news, politics, health, business and entertainment. Originally launched in 2009, the platform was then purchased by NBC News in 2010. The digital platform remains focused on curating exciting digital content and currently has more than 100 million annual visitors.

^{— Source and photo: Allen Media Group (AMG)/PRNewswire}

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Charter to Expand Distribution of Black News Channel and Offer Network to Video Subscribers Across All Markets

Charter Will Make the Network Available by early September to Subscribers of Spectrum TV Silver and Higher Video Tiers

STAMFORD, Conn. – Charter Communications, Inc. today announced it plans to significantly expand distribution of Black News Channel (BNC), the nation’s only 24/7 African American-focused news network, by making the channel available to Spectrum TV subscribers throughout the company’s 41-state footprint by early September 2020.

Charter was one of the first pay TV providers to offer BNC in some of its biggest markets, including New York, Los Angeles and Dallas, upon the network’s launch in early 2020. Today’s announcement expands that access to Spectrum TV customers located in all Charter markets, including Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Kansas City, Cincinnati and Columbia, providing Black News Channel even broader reach for its programming.

“Expanding distribution of Black News Channel will give even more Spectrum customers access to the network’s topical news,” said Tom Montemagno, Executive Vice President of Programming Acquisition for Charter. “It’s critical that we provide diverse perspectives on our lineups, and that we have programming that truly reflects the issues facing our customers and the communities we serve.”

BNC launched February 10 as the nation’s only provider of 24-hour cable news programming dedicated to covering the diverse perspective of African American communities. As an innovative and life-changing network, BNC’s mission is to provide intelligent programming that is informative, educational, inspiring and empowering to its African American audience.

“Charter Communications has been a great partner for our Network and has been committed to our success and the information needs of our audience from the start,” said BNC Chairman and co-founder J.C. Watts, Jr. “Expanding BNC‘s reach to subscribers throughout the Spectrum TV universe further demonstrates that commitment.”

The channel features coverage of national political, health, business and sports news; stories about Black history and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs); and original programming, including the “Kelly Wright Show,” “Being a Woman” with hosts Lauren McCoy and Rarione Maniece, and “Doctor for the People” hosted by Dr. Corey Hebert. More information about Black News Channel and its programs is available at www.BlackNewsChannel.com.

BNC will be available upon launch at no additional charge to Spectrum TV customers who have Spectrum TV Silver, Digital Tier Package 1, or Spectrum Lifestyle TV. More information about how to subscribe and local channel locations is available at www.spectrum.com.

– Source and photo: Charter Communications and Devlin Design Group

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AT&T To Acquire Time Warner for $85 Billion

DALLAS and NEW YORK CITY—AT&T Inc. and Time Warner Inc. announced October 22, 2016, they have entered into a definitive agreement under which AT&T will acquire Time Warner in a stock-and-cash transaction valued at $107.50 per share. The agreement has been approved unanimously by the boards of directors of both companies.

The deal combines Time Warner’s vast library of content and ability to create new premium content that connects with audiences around the world, with AT&T’s extensive customer relationships, world’s largest pay TV subscriber base and leading scale in TV, mobile and broadband distribution.

Time Warner, Inc. is a global leader in media and entertainment with businesses in television networks and film and TV entertainment, uses its industry-leading operating scale and brands to create, package and deliver high-quality content worldwide on a multi-platform basis.

AT&T Inc. connects millions of customers around the globe with leading entertainment, mobile, high-speed Internet and voice services. With TV customers in the United States and 11 Latin American countries, AT&T is one of the world’s largest providers of pay TV. They help businesses worldwide serve their customers better with mobility and highly secure cloud solutions.

The U.S. Government continues its studies and research at the intersection of telecommunications and the rapidly evolving market for video content. Regulatory analysts say this mega-merger would need to win approval from the Justice Department and may require lengthy reviews by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) . AT&T is expected to offer upfront concessions, such as assuring other pay-TV distributors and wireless operators would still have access to Time Warner programming.

—Sources: AT&T, Inc. , Time Warner, Inc., and The Wall Street Journal

New Museum’s Chief Digital Officer Highlights Digital Media and Content

WASHINGTON (bdpatoday)—President Barack Obama, the first family, BDPA executives, and media outlets got an early look yesterday, September 14, 2016, inside the new National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) before its grand opening.

During Media Preview Day, the museum’s Chief Digital Officer, Adam Martin, provided an exclusive interview to bdpatoday and Popular Technology TV (PTTV) where he highlights the facility’s new infrastructure, latest technologies, unique internships, and career opportunities in digital imaging, embedding metadata into digital images, and federating content across the museum’s Digital Asset Management System (DAMS) and Enterprise Digital Asset Network (EDAN).

Martin also discussed with BDPA, broader engagements with local BDPA chapter cities and communities to assist members with curating BDPA events, capturing historical technologies, and new innovations. NMAAHC also will launch digitizing services to preserve content from earlier media formats such as reel-to-reel 8-mm tapes, floppy disks, VHS cartridges, recordable CDs and DVDs.

(L-R) Keith Scott, BDPA, and Adam Martin, NMAAHC, discuss on-prem digital content, data visualization, and curating mobile apps during the Smithsonian’s Media Preview Day.

—Photo credit: bdpatoday

Established more than a decade ago, it has been accumulating artifacts and collectibles to tell the story of America through the African-American lens. America’s newest Smithsonian museum will open next Saturday, September, 24, 2016.

AP reports the president will deliver remarks at the dedication ceremony. Officials are bracing for very large crowds in the museum’s opening days. The museum contains about 85,000 square feet of exhibition space on five floors. It has nearly 3,000 objects and 12 exhibitions, along with 183 videos.