Rowdy Orbit™

Great Mention in The Root.

The glory days of quality black TV programming may have passed.

Granted, there have been a few recent bright lights, with Jill Scott (No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency), Sherri Shepherd (Sherri) , Jada Pinkett-Smith (HawthoRNe) and Tyler Perry (House of Payne) all producing and starring in prominent shows, and The Cleveland Show has given Fox a bona-fide hit this fall. But we are still a long way away from the late 1980s and early 1990s when networks were going after black audiences with the same vigor they now do men 18 to 24.

A small but growing number of filmmakers, producers and writers are looking to the Web to make black shows on their own terms. Over the last year, a bevy of new shows have come online about the lives of all kinds of black people: gay and lesbian, rich and poor. Sites that focus on publishing black independent Web shows are cropping up as well, including Rowdy Orbit and BBTV (Better Black TV). This month, BET.com will premiere its first original Web series, Buppies, starring Tatyana Ali, directed by up-and-coming director Julian Breece and produced by Ali and newcomer Aaliyah Williams.

The Full Article

A Little Love from Bloggers.

The article is called “Black Hulu: Creating a Home for Independent Black Video.”

RowdyOrbit is an independent start-up by Jonathan Moore, whose background is in the ad business. Moore is more explicitly focused on series and particularly scripted shows. The idea is to be something like a Hulu for black shows online. The site will continually upload brand new shows and new episodes of shows it already features — the more shows, the better (the goal is to publish hundreds). Moore is focusing on professionally produced series; it’s already landed Jaleel White’s new show, Road to the Altar, currently distributed by Koldcast. Still, despite this professional focus, it aims to be much more expansive than BBTV.

Entire Post:

http://blog.ajchristian.org/2009/10/15/creating-a-home-for-black-online-video/

Great Mention on Comics Alliance.

There are plenty of webcomic platforms, but nothing like this: Rowdy Orbit, “a mid-market,…

http://www.comicsalliance.com/2009/07/31/link-ink-woman-of-a-c-t-i-o-n-freaky-horror-stories/

The Black Box Office. Showing Major Love.

Rowdy Orbit is an online platform and destination for professionally produced, original episodic storytelling for the African American, Hispanic, Latino, and Native American viewing audiences.

“Not seeing people of color on TV, on a consistent basis or in decent roles, was motivation to do something,” says Jonathan Moore, Founder and CEO. “So being another ‘me too’ site, is way out of the question.”

WHAT ELSE DID THEY SAY. HERE’S A HINT:

“A multiculturally focused media company with vision! Gotta love that! Visit RowdyOrbit.com now, and keep your eye on them!”  http://theblackboxoffice.com/?p=8578