By: Alyssa Wilson

In an exclusive with The Hollywood Reporter, Black News Channel (BNC) CEO Princell Hair spoke about the network’s primetime revamp. 

According to the article, Black News Channel was the only cable news channel with a live broadcast of Boston mayor Kim Janey’s historic inauguration. 

RELATED: Kim Janey becomes Boston’s first Black, first woman mayor

“That is a big deal. It is a big deal to the city of Boston, it is a big deal to the United States, it is a big deal for Black and brown communities,” Hair told The Hollywood Reporter. “That is what you get on BNC that you won’t get anywhere else.”

Black News Channel faces steep challenges, but Hair and the station’s talent believe their focus on underserved communities is a significant opportunity that has not been unlocked. 

Marc Lamont Hill is joining the network as the host of Black News Tonight, which premiers on April 5 at 8 p.m.  

“It is gratifying to be able to fill a void, to be able to step in and say we have been neglected,” Hill said. “We have an incredible assignment as a network, and that is to tell these stories that legacy cable networks haven’t been committed to telling.” 

Starting Monday April 5th – BNC welcomes Black News Tonight with Marc Lamont Hill to our NEW Prime Time Cable News Line Up – Watch History Unfold Weeknights at 8pm eastern, only on BNC. pic.twitter.com/ucTkyUefF8

— BNC (@BNCNews) March 29, 2021

Yodit Tewolde will anchor Making the Case with Yodit, premiering April 12 at 9 p.m. With this show, she will bring her background as a prosecutor and defense attorney to daily topics. 

Charles Blow will close out the evenings with Prime with Charles M. Blow at 10 p.m. His show premiers on April 19. 

In case you missed it… https://t.co/nQoAakOUtl

— Charles M. Blow (@CharlesMBlow) March 30, 2021

The primetime relaunch comes at a time when Black Americans have their eye on the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin which BNC is airing live. 

RELATED: Derek Chauvin trial LIVE UPDATES

“I have been on television for the last 12 years in some sort of commentating capacity for MSNBC, Fox and CNN. Always in the capacity of being an oppositional force, juxtaposed with someone with very different opinions than my own, often in the position of having a discussion or debate or whatever you want to call it with someone who devalued Black lives.”

BNC launched one year ago with just 55 employees and availability in two million homes. 

Now, with more than 150 employees, BNC is available in 52 million homes. 

RELATED: Black News Channel CEO talks network revamp with Wall Street Journal