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Launch HN: BlackOakTV (YC S21) – Netflix for black people

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Re: Launch HN: BlackOakTV (YC S21) – Netflix for black people

#91

Post by tptacek »

throwaway2037 wrote: post #72

Can any French, Belgians, or Dutchies with significant Black African sub-culture comment? I am curious: If there was a French-language or Flemish-/Dutch-language "Netflix for black people" in your country, what would be the reaction?

French people of African descent are not culturally the same as American Black people. Black culture is unique in that it was created artificially by kidnapping millions of people from the African content and stripping them of their cultures, family ties, and names, prompting those people to construct a new culture (while uniting them for another 100 years in the experience of apartheid and the civil rights movement). It's its own powerful, interesting thing.

But, of course, there are TV stations for all sorts of ethnicities all over the world, so the answer to your question is just "nobody would care except message board trolls".

Re: Launch HN: BlackOakTV (YC S21) – Netflix for black people

#92

Post by hobs »

h3daz wrote: post #68
sokoloff wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

BET wasn’t offensive me. Telemundo wasn’t offensive to me. Nickelodeon wasn’t offensive to me. Food Network wasn’t offensive to me. Serving targeted programming to an identifiable minority audience seems like a perfectly reasonable business (and social) proposition. I don’t know that “Netflix for Black People” will test well, but it seems perfectly fine to me. [white middle-aged male if context matters]. Edit to add:…

My only problem with marketing "X for black people" is that marketing "X for white people" isn't socially acceptable.

Because that's called society. If you make X for white people in the current context, it's basically Fox News.

Re: Launch HN: BlackOakTV (YC S21) – Netflix for black people

#93

Post by RHSeeger »

afavour wrote: post #59
josteink wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They are only a “minority” because someone decided to come up with a way (race) to divide people into groups where one group is bound to end up smaller, and somehow claim that division is of significant importance. IMO the solution to that problem is definitely not to reinforce that division.

I'm sympathetic to that viewpoint but as the sibling comment pointed out, America is 76.3% white. If the push is "remove all the divisions, everyone is part of one group" then the interests of the majority within that group will dominate.

I believe that 76.3% includes hispanics, and hispanics are considered a minority. When people talk about whites being the majority, my inclination is to assume they're talking about non-hispanic. That lowers the percentage to around 60% or so (I'm not sure on that number); still a majority, but not as much so.

Re: Launch HN: BlackOakTV (YC S21) – Netflix for black people

#94

Post by ntma »

sobrave1098 wrote: post #82

I'm a huge fan of other cultures and think they need to be celebrated because they make all of our lives richer..but I wish there would be less animosity towards white people. 'White culture' creates all of the countries that people from every other country are fleeing to, or trying to immigrate to. White people created Democracy, Checks and Balances, overwhelming amount of the technology that makes our lives great,…

The only "people" who hate on actual white people are jws.

Remember kids -- jws AREN'T white!

Re: Launch HN: BlackOakTV (YC S21) – Netflix for black people

#95

Post by [deleted] »

tcoff91 wrote: post #60
megraf wrote: post #7

I feel like this encourages a divide.

You do know that conventional TV has had this for ages? Ever heard of BET? Why shouldn’t different cultures have different media that highlights stories that resonate with them? HN makes me realize why so many black people find the tech world hostile and stay away.

[deleted]

Re: Launch HN: BlackOakTV (YC S21) – Netflix for black people

#96

Post by Uzo0312 »

kitcar wrote: post #35

Out of curiosity - you mention that in the 90's there were a number of TV shows featuring prominent black characters but there isn't anymore. Why did you decide the solution to that problem was to create a black-focused distribution platform, instead of production company focused on creating new shows of similar quality to those in the 90's - has something changed about the market that would prevent shows like those…

That's a great point. I think both things probably need to be done. We took the distribution route, because ultimately we believe it's the direct relationship with the consumer that will allow for this to work. As a production company, you're a step away from the end-user, so you're at the mercy of a distribution company that has more than just the black audience to worry about. But if a company is solely focused on a single niche, like so many tech companies out there, the economics for super-serving that niche are a lot better.

Re: Launch HN: BlackOakTV (YC S21) – Netflix for black people

#99

Post by bavell »

I wish the founders the best but I'll admit the headline did rub me the wrong way at first. Just a little too on-the-nose or something. I definitely understand trying to reach an undeserved market, just feels weird so explicitly segmenting by race... In any case, good luck on your launch!

Re: Launch HN: BlackOakTV (YC S21) – Netflix for black people

#100

Post by chemeng »

JacobDotVI wrote: post #33

>Hello Sunshine was founded by Witherspoon in 2016 to create content focused on female voices. ... "Kevin and Tom and our partners at Blackstone see what we see – women’s stories matter, and we have economic power as consumers, creators and business leaders. Their commitment enables us to double-down on our mission and our ambitious growth agenda,” Harden said in a release. Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine to be so…

Yes, it’s very interesting that “X for Women” seems non-controversial to most people, but “X for [underserved group]” brings out the trolls en masse.
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