Whoopi Goldberg, famed EGOT and business mogul, is adding another entry to her résumé: streaming entrepreneur.
via: Vibe
Goldberg’s backed streaming service, BlkFam, has officially launched. BlkFam is aimed at Black families and boasts over 1,000 hours of kid-friendly content, Variety reports.
BlkFam launched on Monday (Feb. 26), complete with 20 syndicated series, hundreds of hours of original music, and diverse experiences. The streaming service is being hailed as “the first and only” Black-owned, family-focused streaming platform on the market. Additionally, the platform currently has 10 original live-action and animated projects in development. The projects are all set to premiere in 2024.
Goldberg is attached to the platform as an equity partner and a “creative force.” Tom Leonardis, president of Goldberg’s Whoop Inc. production company, is also attached to the platform as an equity partner. The EGOT-level actress spoke about what motivated her to join the platform.
“I have a 10-year-old great-granddaughter and there isn’t a lot of content out there created by people who look like her, for her,” The View host expressed. “I feel like we’re not always represented in the best possible way.” As she continued, Whoopi revealed that “no one has ever invited me to be part of the ground floor. And this is not even the ground floor, it’s the basement!”
“I like the idea of being part of something that will grow,” she continued. “As I get older, I say, ‘Wow, things will outlast me.’ This is one of the things I hope outlasts me—I could be the Black woman Walt Disney!”
WarnerMedia veteran Larry Adams is the founder of BlkFam. Adams spoke to the icon’s involvement and the “magical” experience the partnership would yield. “I’m the marketing, distribution, business guy. She’s the creative powerhouse behind this that’s going to make it really magical,” Adams said.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Adams conceived the idea after realizing that mainstream platforms like Max and Netflix weren’t properly servicing Black families. He referred to their attempts as “kind of like a grab bag. It really felt like you have rows and rows of black voices, but a lot of it wasn’t curated for my family.”
