YouTube channels stress diversity

YouTube channels stress diversity

SFGate

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The hip-hop impresario co-founded the Def Jam label, launched the Phat Farm clothing line, started a film and television production company, and branched out into stage productions with Russell Simmons Def Poetry Jam on Broadway. Simmon's ADD Video is among a number of new channels on Google's YouTube designed for African American, Asian American and Latino viewers who already flock to the site by the millions. Some of the most recognizable names in the entertainment industry - including rappers Jay-Z, Queen Latifah and Diddy, and former BET Entertainment President Reginald Hudlin - will operate channels, joining former Los Angeles Laker Shaquille O'Neal, Grammy Award-winning musician Pharrell Williams and "The Original Kings of Comedy" producer Walter Latham. [...] the opportunity for YouTube. It's a really amazing and large opportunity we have with online distribution for the African American marketplace, for the Latino and for the Asian audiences that hunger for content. [...] we are happy to get it and serve it up for them. Former BET chief Hudlin plans an eclectic mix of entertainment offerings: comedy, action, horror, pop culture and reality, with casting that better reflects contemporary society.

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