BLKFAM powered by Whoopi Goldberg kicks off with 1,000+ hours of kids programming

BLKFAM is a free, ad-supported, black-focused family streaming service launching today to give black Americans access to more than 1,000 hours of new kid-friendly animated titles, as well as content for the whole family, including comedy and reality shows, fitness and wellness series, news, music-based content and more.

Whoopi Goldberg is an equity investor in BLKFAM and will also be the creative director. 10 new original live-action and animated series are currently in development, slated for release in 2024.

“I am excited to be involved with BLKFAM from the ground floor. I’m proud to be a part of something that my great-grandchildren can enjoy and see characters that look like them on screen, created by people that look like them,” Goldberg said in a statement provided to TechCrunch.

BLKFAM considers its platform to be the first and only black-owned and black-focused family streaming service. The company’s goal is to serve black audiences who often feel misrepresented or underrepresented in mainstream media, despite being the demographic that watches the most television. According Nielsen, Black audiences consume over 81 hours of media on a weekly basis. Additionally, 80% of Black Americans use free over-the-top services, compared to 69% of all consumers, per Horowitz research.

BLKFAM aims to release content that “entertains, educates and celebrates Black American family-friendly content,” the company wrote in its press release. Rather than following competitors who take a “more is better” approach, BLKFAM curates a collection of compelling stories that we hope will spark conversation from the public. The company has partnered with content partners Playwatch Kids and Candle Media’s ATTN to deliver educational shows like “Kembe,” “Gabby Galactic and the Orbiteens” and “12th Street,” among others.

The company also believes its co-viewing strategy — providing content aimed at the entire family rather than individual age groups — will help it stand out from competitors.

“Having a deep professional understanding of the streaming landscape, I knew there was a void in co-viewing platforms,” founder Larry Adams, formerly chief brand officer for HBO Max, tells us. “But as a black parent, when my kids and I sat down to watch a movie or share a show, the options for families to watch together were mixed with adult-oriented content. Content aimed at black audiences wasn’t necessarily created from the point of view of wholesome family co-viewing.”

“We know that families watch together and resort to separate viewing experiences only when there are limited options,” adds Adams, who also helped launch DirecTV Now in 2016, AT&T’s live TV streaming service.

BLKFAM is now available on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Roku, YouTube TV, Samsung Smart TV, Vizio, LG and iOS and Android devices.