Magic Johnson's Winning Ways Will Not Extend to His TV Network

Magic Johnson's golden touch is not powerful enough to propel him to success in his latest venture. He is getting ready to launch his own television network. 

On June 30th, Johnson plans on launching Aspire. This will be a 24-hour network on basic cable. 

Meg James and Greg Braxton of the Los Angeles Times relayed Magic's description and purpose of his network:

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[Aspire will have] a focus on what Johnson called positive, uplifting images of African Americans. The basic cable outlet will join other channels targeting black viewers, such as BET and TV One, and will offer opportunities for blacks who have struggled to find work in mainstream Hollywood.

Aspire's mix will include film, TV, music and comedy, with a combination of acquired projects and original programming. "There will some performing arts and shows about faith," Johnson said.

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This is an outstanding idea for a network. I hope Johnson succeeds, but he is fighting long odds. 

Finding success with a new TV network is a nearly impossible task for anyone, let alone someone with little experience in the business. And this is not the kind of experience that would indicate success. 

Just ask Oprah Winfrey. Just over a year ago, the queen of TV launched her own network. 

Tim Kenneally shed some insight on Oprah's struggles in an article found on Reuters.com:

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The two-hour premiere of Winfrey's new series "Oprah's Next Chapter" gave OWN its highest ratings for a Sunday premiere since the network's January 2011 launch weekend, scoring a 1.1 rating in the network's target women 25-54 demographic and 1.1 million total viewers.

To put Sunday night's numbers in context, the "Oprah's Next Chapter" premiere represented a 463 percent increase in the demo over the network's December 2011 average in that time period. 

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Those are some pretty meager numbers, and unless Oprah's new show continues to be a hit and she finds others to go with it, it is hard to see that station being a viable business. 

To his credit, Magic is not walking blindly into this. Here is Johnson, as quoted by James and Braxton: "We'll learn from those who have gone before us. We understand the landscape, and we will run a sound business."

He is going to have a lot to learn in a hurry, and running a sound business is only going to get a person so far if they don't have the creative power or acumen to develop programming that will find a big enough audience to become viable. 

Good luck, Magic. You're going to need it.