SILVER SPRING, Md.,
July 11, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/
-- The premiere of TV One's original biopic THE BOBBY DEBARGE
STORY on Saturday, June 29 debuted at
#1 on television (broadcast and cable) among African Americans:
P25-54, W25-54, P18-49, and W18-49. The four airings of THE BOBBY
DEBARGE STORY during premiere weekend had a combined reach of 1.8
Million Unique Viewers 2+. The film ranks as TV One's #4 Original
Movie premiere in the network's history among P25-54, W25-54 and
viewers 2+. The network's top original films, also biopics, include
WHEN LOVE KILLS: THE FALICIA BLAKELY STORY (#1), LOVE UNDER NEW
MANAGEMENT: THE MIKI HOWARD STORY (#2) and BOBBI KRISTINA (#3).*
Continuing the network's tradition of highlighting inspirational
music figures, THE BOBBY DEBARGE STORY explores the tumultuous life
of the former lead singer of the 70's R&B/Funk Band Switch,
also the eldest sibling of the world-famous pop group DeBarge.
In addition to a strong ratings performance, social media buzz
was high on premiere night - the hashtag #BobbyDeBargeStory
sustained momentum as a Top 10 nationally-trending topic on Twitter
for over a three-hour duration, ranking as high as number 4.
Despite his success in music, the iconic falsetto found his life
in peril as he struggled with fame and fortune while coping with
the memories of his dysfunctional childhood. In his first role as a
leading man, Roshon Fegan
brilliantly transforms into the falsetto master and takes audiences
inside the life of Bobby DeBarge.
The film also stars Tyra Ferrell as
Etterlene DeBarge, Blue Kimble as Tommy
DeBarge, Adrian Marcel as
James DeBarge, Big Boi as legendary
music mogul Berry Gordy, and Lloyd
as Switch member Gregory
Williams.
TV One will air an encore presentation of the highly anticipated
film on Sunday, July 21 at
4 P.M. ET. Viewers can also download
the TV ONE App to watch the film.
THE BOBBY DEBARGE STORY is produced for TV One by Swirl Films.
Executive Producers are Eric
Tomosunas and Teri DeBarge.
The film is written by Norman Vance,
Jr., directed by Russ Parr
with casting provided by Leah Daniels
Butler (Leah Daniels Butler Casting) and George Pierre (Pierre Casting). For TV One,
Karen Peterkin and Jason Ryan are the Executive Producers in Charge
of Production, Donyell
Kennedy-McCullough is Senior Director of Talent &
Casting and Brigitte McCray is
Senior Vice President of Original Programming and Production.
*Source: Nielsen, L+3; 1-min reach qualifier; No network/program
exclusions; Further qualifications available upon request.
###
For more information about TV One's upcoming programming,
including original movies, visit the network's companion website at
http://www.tvone.tv. TV One viewers can also join the conversation
by connecting via social media on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook
(@tvonetv) using the hashtags #BOBBYDEBARGESTORY and #REPRESENT.
Download the TV ONE App to watch your favorite shows and
movies.
ABOUT TV ONE
Launched in January 2004, TV One
serves 59 million households, offering a broad range of real-life
and entertainment-focused original programming, classic series,
movies and music designed to entertain and inform a diverse
audience of adult black viewers. The network represents the best in
black culture and entertainment with fan favorite shows Uncensored,
Unsung, Rickey Smiley For Real, Fatal Attraction and The NAACP
Image Awards. In addition, TV One is the cable home of blockbuster
drama Empire. TV One is solely owned by Urban One, Inc., formerly
known as Radio One, Inc. [NASDAQ: UONE and UONEK,
http://www.urban1.com , the largest African-American owned
multi-media company primarily targeting Black and urban
audiences.
SOURCE TV One