Screened Out
By KRISTAL BRENT ZOOK

Published: January 23, 2005

...In contrast to stereotypes about what black people watch -- i.e., gum-smacking UPN sitcoms -- it is a little discussed fact that ''60 Minutes'' ranks No. 18 among upper-income African-Americans. (It falls to No. 41 in the total American market for 18- to 49-year-olds.) And yet, this well-to-do subgroup within the black demographic is one that virtually no one understands.

One year ago, a new cable network was created to change all that. TV One, a joint venture between Radio One, the nation's largest black-oriented radio broadcaster, and Comcast, the nation's largest cable company, began broadcasting on Martin Luther King's Birthday last year. And while its 19 million or so cable subscribers remain modest in number, the network is well positioned to be the first real competitor that Black Entertainment Television (BET) has faced in its 25-year history.

TV One, which is based in Silver Spring, Md., clearly has an eager audience, given that black viewers spend much of their television time watching cable and are willing to pay higher premiums for pay-per-view and programming on demand.

But does this mean the network will succeed in creating what the C.E.O. Johnathan Rodgers calls ''the place we call home'' for black viewers? It's not very likely that any other network would develop a program like ''Divine Restoration,'' a reality show currently in the works, which combines home improvement with architecturally venerable black churches. But despite such innovations, it's been a bumpy ride. This month, the network placed the prominent talk-show host Armstrong Williams on hiatus pending an investigation into his acceptance of $240,000 from the Department of Education for promoting the Bush administration's ''No Child Left Behind'' legislation. And so far, much of the programming has been a confused hodgepodge of place holders: rerun sitcoms like ''Good Times'' and ''Martin''; ''race'' films like ''The Jackie Robinson Story'' and ''Native Son''; and some high-quality all-black and integrated dramas canceled by the major networks, like ''City of Angels,'' ''Under One Roof'' and ''Boston Public.''

At the core of TV One's programming confusion lies a deeper quandary. The network would like to balance the ''upscale'' viewer (untapped) with the ''urban'' (tapped out). Shortly after TV One started, it hired the man it must have believed could help: Lee Gaither, executive vice president of programming and production, who had worked at ABC, Fox, USA, Disney Channel and NBC. (In the interest of full disclosure, Gaither is a friend of mine.) At Disney, he was the creative and autobiographical force behind ''The Famous Jett Jackson,'' one of cable's most successful multiracial children's programs. At TV One, Gaither says he aims to create a similarly expansive view of blackness: less gritty reality, more softness and warmth. A luxurious blend of Essence meets Real Simple meets O, the Oprah Magazine.