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Jacksonville Jaguars Owner Shad Khan Investing In National Black News Channel

The owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars is investing some of his $8 BILLION dollar fortune into a worthy cause. Shad Khan recently announced that he will be the majority investor in the nation’s only 24-hour news network aimed at African American viewers. The Black News Channel (BNC) news network is set to launch next month and will be available in 33 million households.

“I am a big believer in the fact that we have a number of communities, obviously especially the African American, who are underserved,” Khan said in a phone interview to NBC News. “We know the mission, but I’m hoping that as time goes on this becomes a bridge to connect all the cultures, including obviously south Asian, which I am. This is a great worthwhile cause. I want to see it happen.”

He declined to say how much he would invest initially but said it would be enough to keep the network running for a long time.

“It’s significant, and frankly it’s open ended. The investment continues to make sure that not only are the bricks and mortar, the equipment are really what it takes to make an excellent product, but also the people on the air and the programming costs,” Khan said. “It’s whatever it takes.”

Former Republican U.S. Rep. J.C. Watts, the former star quarterback at the University of Oklahoma in the 1980s, will be chairman of the new network. Watts told NBC News that the Tallahassee based network has deals with Charter Communications, Comcast and DISH and will be carried in major African American markets such as New York, Atlanta, New Orleans, Chicago, nd Los Angeles.

Watts previously discussed his network on “The Breakfast Club” alongside Amir Windom.

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