TheUrbanDaily: We’ve seen the growing popularity of shows like “Love and Hip-Hop” and “T.I’s Family Hustle.” What are your thoughts on these on the reality TV landscape in general in 2012?
Jubba: I think we’re just seeing a shift in reality to really follow what pop culture is doing and pop culture includes now Hip-Hop culture. Hip-Hop has become main stream. So when you talk about T.I and when you talk about the Game and his show coming out, I think this is a direct reflection on what pop culture is looking for in their reality. TV One has this responsibility that we feel to our audience to make sure that the shows we put on the air are a positive reflection of our community whether it be Hip-Hop or otherwise, so we’re certainly aware of that but most importantly, we cater to our audience and our audience is a little older than what you would see possibly on VH1 or MTV.
We are seriously in competition with those other networks, including Bravo, because they are obviously attracting the same audience that are our intended target audience. Our demo is around 25 to 50 years old with the sweet spot being around 40 and 60% women. So that’s what you’re seeing when you see VH1 or you watch Bravo, the audience that they’re attracting with the “Housewives” franchise. With even “Love and Hip-Hop” and like you said, “T.I and Tiny,” those shows, they attract our audience. So it’s a bloodbath out here trying to pull an audience to your network and make sure they’re watching your shows and the audience looking at these shows and seeing women depicted a certain way. We’re cautious about that and that’s why you see a show like “R&B Divas” where we feel like we cater to our audience but we don’t enhance any stereotypes, you know, by having our women on our network fighting and jumping over tables and stuff like that.
We feel really proud about that and we take it very seriously, a responsibility to show black women in a positive light because there’s just enough negativity out there alone. There’s enough of that out there so we don’t need to add to that, but we figure we can create an entertaining show that has just as much conflict as the other shows but we don’t have to have, as the kids say, the ‘ratchet’ stuff going on. We can do it in a positive light.
TV ONE’s Jubba Seyyid’s “Unsung” Wishlist & The Realness Of “R&B Divas” was originally published on theurbandaily.com
