TV One Moves 'News One Now' Time Slot

TV One will move its News One Now morning news show to 7 a.m. from 9 a.m. beginning Sept. 14, according to network officials.

The weekday one-hour news program, hosted by Roland Martin, focuses on news and analysis of politics, entertainment, sports, and culture from an explicitly African American perspective. TV One said the show, which has grossed almost 2 million total viewers since its inception in Nov. 2013, hopes to expand the show's potential audience by moving it to the 7 a.m. hour when other news shows such as ABC's Good Morning America and NBC's Today air. 

“After almost two years on the air as the only live daily news program targeting the African American viewer, we are confident News One Now is ready to take on the traditional morning news crowd,”Martin said in a statement. “In this uber-competitive news landscape, it is imperative we make available to the broadest audience possible the in-depth relevance our unique perspective provides. We know viewers have a multitude of options at 7 a.m. for their first news of the day, and we believe the diversity of our focus and continual coverage of issues of import to the African America community will resonate significantly.”  

R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.