Opinion
The Oscar-winning actress and “The View” co-host Whoopi Goldberg has announced that she is teaming up with the black streaming service known as Blkfam, which aims to make free kid-friendly content for black audiences.
Goldberg’s New Venture
Goldberg is an equity investor in Blkfam, which launched yesterday across multiple platforms.
“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,” Goldberg, 68, told Variety. “I feel like we’re not always represented in the best possible way.”
Goldberg went on to say that before investing in Blkfam, “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 added. “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!”
Related: Whoopi Goldberg Launches Vile Attack On Tim Scott For Denying Systemic Racism – ‘Looney Tune’
Blkfam Founder Speaks Out
Founded by digital media veteran Larry Adams, who called Goldberg personally about investing, Blkfam boasts a content library that “includes more than 20 syndicated series, with over 1,000 hours of animation titles, dozens of animated characters of color and diverse gender experiences, and hundreds of hours of original music-driven content.”
Blkfam also has 10 original live-action and animated series in development that are set to debut on the streaming service throughout this year.
Adams explained that he was motivated to create Blkfam after browsing through the Black programming section of a popular streaming service, which he declined to name, to find something to watch with his children, only to discover “a ton of R-rated content.”
“Black culture and content is so often stereotyped, siloed or written off, so I wanted to create a platform where my kids and I can be entertained without having to face those same daily biases,” Adams said. “By curating authentic content — proven through data and AI — primarily from Black storytellers, we’ve built a service reflecting true inclusion and diversity, where Black parents and children especially can feel holistically represented.”
Adams is particularly excited to partner with Goldberg, saying that, “The magic of working with Whoopi Goldberg is, she has a magic bag of ideas.”
Related: Whoopi Goldberg Claims Trump Will ‘Disappear’ Journalists And ‘Gay Folks’ If He’s Reelected
Blkfam’s Content Partners And Business Model
Content partners for Bkfam include Candle Media’s ATTN and PlayWatch Kids.
“We are extremely excited to be partnering with Blkfam — we feel this is a historic moment for families across the globe,” PlayWatch owner Jimmy Jenkins said in a statement. “Ultimately this platform will impact our children, and our children’s children.”
Adams concluded by saying that Blkfam’s business model will involve financing original series through brand partnerships.
“We are not doing the same thing other streamers have done where they go out and get 10,000 hours of stuff,” he said. “Our curated approach means [the catalog] won’t be as deep and endless as a Netflix, but it will be interesting faces you haven’t seen before.”
Goldberg regularly enjoys making everything about race and using that to divide our country even further every day on “The View,” so it comes as no surprise that she jumped to be involved in this racially motivated venture. Given how many streaming services are out there these days, however, it remains to be seen if this will actually be as successful as she is hoping.
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