Meet Tenia Wright | Chief of Programming, Freeli TV

We had the good fortune of connecting with Tenia Wright and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tenia, maybe we can start at the very start – the idea – how did you come up with the idea for your business?
Freeli TV was born out of the goal to serve African-Americans and other people of color by providing entertaining content geared towards our preferences. Our CEO, Jack Carter, had the bold idea to create a linear-streaming platform that mirrors the traditional television viewing experience through a preview/channel guide, but whose content represents urban culture. Where other linear-streaming platforms may have a few channels geared towards this demographic, Freeli TV has over 50!

I work with a team of creative individuals who are dedicated to bringing urban culture to the forefront of TV programming. We don’t just want to be in the room, we want to OWN the room. As Chief of Programming, I have the esteemed pleasure of scheduling curated and licensed shows and movies, but the real blessing is having a platform where we are able to partner with other urban content creators to provide a space where they can showcase their work.

What should our readers know about your business?
What sets Freeli TV apart from other streaming platforms is that we are 100% dedicated to providing culture-relevant entertainment in a linear format complete with an electronic programming guide (EPG) that makes viewing similar to cable television. We offer themed channels that point to urban culture such as LMAO, Bey Hive, Talk That Talk, She Bad, Glam Lyfe, Living Out Loud…and many more. These channels have been, and continue to be, carefully curated to provide an optimal viewing experience for African-Americans, other POCs, and anyone who enjoys urban culture. Most importantly, it is FREE!

I am extremely proud of the work we are doing. We were blessed to be able to start and successfully grow a business during the COVID pandemic simply by word of mouth. That was no easy feat but by God’s grace, we were able to grow exponentially during that time. Not being able to meet in person was the hardest challenge for me since I’m such a people person and really do love my team. Perseverance, prayer and countless online meetings paved the way for success and continued growth!

I am also proud that some of the shows and movies that we’ve produced ourselves are shown on our own platform. The Morning After, Make Time for Love and Marc & Jenni are just some of our projects that can be found on Freeli TV Originals Ch. 109.

Freeli TV is FREE TV for us, by us and is available on iOS and Android platforms as well as FireTV. Did I mention that it’s FREE?!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
One of my favorite things to do is to rent bikes and ride around Piedmont Park. It makes me feel like a kid again. In a COVID-free world, we would definitely hit up a concert to hear some dope music and we would have to go feel the vibes at Apache. Atlanta has so many great food spots that we would have to put our eating pants on and get to as many as we can stomach. We are definitely starting with Twisted Soul Cookhouse and Pours because..Jack Daniels honey pecan wings! We would finish the week up with a little sip and paint and a visit to the Trap Museum.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I definitely have to shout out God, my family, friends and Freeli TV supporters. I would additionally like to shout out Freeli TV’s CEO, Jack Carter, who continues to believe in me and pushes me to be greater. Lastly, I would like to shout out our fellow Founders, Lashon Carter, Javier McIntosh and Jabriel McIntosh as well has our Social Media Director, Stephanie Williams. They all work tirelessly to keep the Freeli TV machine running!

Website: www.GetFreeli.tv

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