TheGrio

TheGrio was a brand owned by the American media company Allen Media Group. It included a television network and a website. TheGrio was created to share news, stories, and information that focused on African Americans. It aimed to give a voice to the experiences and perspectives of this community through both television and online platforms.

History

TheGrio is a television network and website that shares news and stories important to African Americans. Its name comes from the word griot, which describes storytellers in West African culture.

The website began in June 2009 as part of NBC News. It was created by the team behind the documentary film Meeting David Wilson. Later, it became part of MSNBC, then was sold back to its founders. In 2016, Byron Allen’s Entertainment Studios bought the website.

The TV channel started in 2016 as Light TV, created by reality television producer Mark Burnett and his wife, actress Roma Downey. It was sold to Entertainment Studios in 2020 and renamed TheGrio TV in January 2021. In 2022, it combined with the Black News Channel, adding some news programming, though most of the content came from existing interviews and archived shows.

Television network

In October 2020, two TV networks called Light TV and This TV were sold to a company called Allen Media Group. On December 3, 2020, they announced plans to relaunch one of these networks as TheGrio.TV on January 15, 2021. The new network would show fun and lifestyle shows for the Black American community.

While getting ready for the launch, the old Light TV programming stopped, and a test pattern was shown instead. Some TV stations decided to join TheGrio when it started, while others chose different networks. TheGrio officially began on January 15, 2021, which was Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

In early 2025, TheGrio stopped being shown on some digital services, but it can still be found on cable TV and some online services. The cable version now shows old Black sitcoms, while the online version has different shows.

Programming

From 2016 to 2021, TheGrio TV (known as Light TV) showed many family-friendly shows and movies. These included films and TV programs from the MGM library and other sources. In 2019, the channel also started showing special ads during late-night and early-morning hours.

TheGrio now shows a variety of current programs, including court shows like America's Court with Judge Ross and Comics Unleashed, as well as sports coverage from historically black colleges and universities. There are also shows like Funny You Should Ask and animal rescue stories from the San Diego Zoo.

In the past, Light TV featured classic shows such as The Adventures of Paddington Bear and Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?, along with family favorites like Heartland and Flipper.