Traci Otey Blunt Named President of RLJ Entertainment’s Urban Movie Channel

Silver Spring, MD — Robert L. Johnson, Chairman of RLJ Entertainment (NASDAQ: RLJE) today announced the appointment of Traci Otey Blunt as President of Urban Movie Channel (UMC). UMC is the first premium subscription-based streaming service created for African American and urban audiences that features quality urban content across all genres, including feature films, original series, stand-up comedy, documentaries, and other exclusive titles.

“I am excited to announce Traci’s appointment as UMC President. Two years ago, Traci joined the RLJ Entertainment management team as Executive Vice President for Corporate Marketing and Corporate Affairs and was assigned to launch and develop the company’s proprietary streaming service Urban Movie Channel,” said Johnson. “Under Traci’s leadership and management, UMC has built a strong business foundation to grow its subscriber base and distribute compelling content to its target audience. UMC has attracted talented producers and writers from the African American creative community and has acquired films and other content featuring some of the most prominent Black actors and actresses. I am confident that Traci and her team will make UMC a successful and valuable digital channel for RLJ Entertainment,” he concluded.

Miguel Penella, RLJ Entertainment CEO stated, “Traci has demonstrated an expertise of the digital entertainment industry in a short period of time. Her experience in creating successful campaigns to reach African American and urban audiences, coupled with her decisive results-oriented management style are an effective combination which will help UMC continue to expand. In addition to leading UMC, Traci will continue to serve as the EVP for Corporate Affairs leading RLJE’s corporate communications and public affairs.”

“I am pleased and excited to have the confidence of RLJE management and the opportunity to lead and grow UMC at this time,” said Blunt. “My immediate strategic goals for UMC are to grow our subscriber base by creating a destination for the UMC audience to find compelling and original content created by the most talented African American writers and producers. UMC will create a business model where the often underemployed African American creative community will find a place to showcase their work product and be compensated by subscribers who enjoy watching UMC entertainment. We also want to further expand UMC’s digital footprint by making UMC available on more platforms and devices. Finally, I want to come up with an innovative way that digital content providers can be recognized and rewarded by the industry and their peers for the outstanding creative content they produce now and in the future,” she concluded.

The UMC team includes Angela Northington, SVP Content Acquisitions & General Manager; as well as Farah Noel, Manager, UMC Publicity and Corporate Affairs; and Lauren Spencer, UMC Digital Marketing Manager.

 

About Urban Movie Channel (UMC)
Created by Robert L. Johnson, Chairman of RLJ Entertainment and founder of Black Entertainment Television (BET), Urban Movie Channel (UMC) is the first subscription streaming service created for African American and urban audiences in North America that features quality urban content and showcases feature films, documentaries, original series, stand-up comedy, and other exclusive content. UMC offers a free 7-day trial and thereafter is just $4.99/month or $49.99/year. Subscribers can access UMC from multiple devices (tablet, phone and laptop), on Roku, Amazon Prime, Amazon Fire TV, iOS, and Apple TV to watch movies from today’s most recognizable talent available on demand and commercial-free. For more information, please visit urbanmoviechannel.com.

 

About RLJ Entertainment:
RLJ Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ: RLJE) is an entertainment content distribution company in primarily North America, the United Kingdom, and Australia. RLJE’s titles are distributed in multiple formats including broadcast television (including satellite and cable), theatrical and non-theatrical, DVD, Blu-Ray, digital download, and digital streaming. With its popular OTT branded channels, Acorn TV (British TV) and UMC (Urban Movie Channel), RLJE targets distinct, premium audiences and urban niche audiences. The company grows its proprietary digital channels through development, acquisition, and distribution of exclusive rights of program franchises and feature film content Through Acorn Media Enterprises, its UK development arm, RLJE owns all rights to the hit UK mystery series Foyle’s War and is developing new programs. RLJE owns 64% of Agatha Christie Limited, which manages the intellectual property and publishing rights to some of the greatest works of mystery fiction, including stories of the iconic sleuths Miss Marple and Poirot.

For more information, please visit RLJEntertainment.com, Acorn.TV, and UrbanMovieChannel.com.

 

PRESS CONTACT:
Farah Noel
301-830-6247
fnoel@RLJEntertainment.com