New owners of Soul Train bring along new digital distribution opportunities as well

The American iconic TV program Soul Train, which ceased production in 2006 has been sold to L.A. based Mad Vision Entertainment and the private equity firm Intermedia Partners. This is a hell of a deal in my mind, as there is a tremendous opportunity to resuscitate the legendary Soul Train franchise which includes the longest running Black program in America, along with the Lady of Soul Awards, and the Soul Train Music Awards.

To provide a little more background, Soul Train is recognized as the first black music variety show ever offered on American television, as well as one of the longest running syndicated programs in American television history! The show was created in Chicago in 1969 by the former radio broadcaster turned entertainment industry giant – Mr. Don Cornelius.

On the subject of the deal, Cornelius has been quoted in a Reuters piece as saying “…I feel the time is now finally right to pass the torch. The MadVision team understands and respects my vision.” The respect comes in the form of rights to the brand, to produce the show, and to a catalog of nearly 1,100 hours of historical show footage.

Madvision, led by Peter Griffith, Kenard Gibbs, and Anthony Maddox are the potential architects of what could be a serious revival of a long standing part of American Pop culture. Is their really gold in the long tail of Soul Train reruns? And what will become of the other franchise jewels – The Soul Train Music and Lady of Soul Awards?

From a web and digital media perspective, this should translate to video on demand, broadband distribution opportunities, and DVD box sets to put under your Christmas tree, but where are the Black oriented broadband video platforms? BlackVoices, BlackPlanet, BlackAmericaWeb, and TheRoot have limited video, while RushmoreDrive provides video as a type of search result. Bottomline, none of the major Black web outlets are robust video plays. Cable and satellite will be great opportunities for On Demand, and maybe even TV One or Africa Channel might be great syndication partners, but where is the real gold mine for the future of Soul Train? My bet would be on DVD and perhaps mobile On Demand. Wouldn’t you want to play over and over again on your iPhone those classic Jackson 5 appearances when Michael Jackson was actually a little Black boy? Here is wishing Intermedia Partners and Mad Vision Entertainment much love, peace and soul!