Two channels will keep Bill Cosby sitcoms on the air
While TV Land has stopped airing repeats of Cosby’s iconic NBC sitcom The Cosby Show, two niche basic cable channels that target black viewers have decided to continue running sitcoms starring the actor-comedian.
BET-owned Centric (formerly BET Jazz) confirmed to EW that repeats of Cosby Show will continue. Centric is available in 51 million homes. Asked for the channel’s reasoning behind the decision, a spokesperson replied that they’re not making any comments about the series at this time.
The other channel is called Aspire and it was launched by Magic Johnson in 2012. Aspire airs Cosby’s short-lived 1969 sitcom, The Bill Cosby Show, which ran for two seasons. Aspire told EW, “We continue to closely monitor the situation. Currently the show is still running.” Aspire is available in about 21 million homes.
Nine women have recently accused Cosby of drugging and raping them during the 1970s and ’80s, allegations the 77-year-old comic has strongly denied through his attorney. In recent weeks, Cosby has canceled at least two TV appearances, NBC has halted development on a new sitcom starring the actor and Netflix has postponed streaming a new Cosby stand-up special.
