Here’s why SoulVision.TV is the streaming service of your dreams
When B.K. Fulton created SoulVision magazine, it probably seemed like a risky endeavor. Fulton describes SoulVision magazine as “designed to share success strategies, soul food if you will, to help people live their best life”. The online entertainment and lifestyle magazine launched in January of 2019 and instantly found its niche.
With SoulVision magazine’s quick success, B.K. Fulton knew he was tapping into a market that audiences are hungry for. Positive, uplifting stories about hope, love, and triumph to counter the messages being told daily in the news about pain and discord.
Realizing the need for more positive programming, Fulton decided that the next logical choice would be SoulVision.TV, a place where viewers could go to watch the uplifting television they’re craving.
SoulVision.TV
SoulVision.TV is B.K. Fulton’s new digital streaming network with an emphasis on authentic and positive human stories. Launching to worldwide audiences on Friday, Feb. 14, 2020, SoulVision.TV will change the tone of television. Delivering over 200 hours of authentic, positive and often untold human stories, SoulVision.TV will stream feature films and movies, TV shows, news, interviews, cartoons and more.
Stories of fame, heroism, love, exploration, and excellence align with Soulidifly’s mission to tell positive, uplifting stories of multiethnic and multigenerational people across various life experiences and eras.
SoulVision.TV will be accessible from all devices including all leading streaming platforms – Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire – and on all mobile platforms, tablets and other devices including smart TVs and home computers.
“We live in a 500-channel world, and all too often it’s the same thing: Crime TV. Drama TV. Violence TV. Traditional TV has become so stressful,” said BK Fulton, founding CEO of Soulidifly Productions and Chairman of SoulVision.TV. “We decided to create something different. SoulVision.TV is a place to find positive, often untold, human stories accessible to anyone on the planet.”
Soulidify Productions
Founded in 2017 in Richmond, Virginia, Soulidifly Productions produced or co-produced four feature-length films in its first year (2018), a milestone never before achieved in the independent film industry.
Through its films, books, SoulVision Magazine and SoulVision.TV network, Soulidifly tells the stories of multiethnic and multigenerational people across various segments of life, experiences and eras.
Soulidifly’s films include: The Unity Ride (produced by Soulidifly Productions and Gunn’it Productions with Unity Riders Jonathan Williams, Andre Block and Doug Minter); Hell on the Border (written and directed by Wes Miller starring David Gyasi, Frank Grillo, Ron Perlman, Jaqueline Fleming, and Vernon Davis); Love Dot Com: The Social Experiment (written and directed by Charneice Fox and produced by Soulidifly Productions and Straight No Chaser Media); River Runs Red (written and directed by Wes Miller and starring Taye Diggs, John Cusack, George Lopez, and Luke Hemsworth); Atone (written and directed by Wes Miller and starring Jaqueline Fleming, Columbus Short, and Robert Rusler); and 1 Angry Black Man (written and directed by Menelek Lumumba).
Soulidifly films have been official selections in over 15 film festivals and have earned several awards including 2nd place at the Urban World Film Festival, the Oscar Micheaux Award for filmmaking, and 1st Place in the LA Film Festival. Distributors for Soulidifly films include Cinedigm, Gravitas Ventures and Lionsgate, among others.
Bringing everything B.K. Fulton is passionate about
B.K. Fulton’s newest venture in SoulVision.TV brings together all of the work he’s passionate about in his other ventures, SoulVision Magazine, and Soulidifly Productions.
Combining his passion for sharing positive messages in his magazine with his dedication to creating films that challenge and inspire his audiences, SoulVision.TV is a natural progression for his empire of positivity.
We had the pleasure of sitting down with B.K. Fulton to discuss his new streaming platform, and how he’s changing the world, one story at a time.
First, welcome back. How has life been treating you?
Thank you. Life is great. I woke up this morning. My Wife is happy and has just received another “Top Virginia Lawyer” recognition. All of our Mr. Business books will be loaded onto the award-winning Caribu.com service and will be available for free to all servicemen and women and our new TV network (SoulVision.TV) will launch next week with over 200 hours of positive programming. I’m feeling both humbled and good about what’s ahead for 2020.
SoulVision.TV is a pretty ambitious project, how long has this been in the works?
SoulVision.TV started to take shape in the summer of 2019. We were doing pretty well with SoulVision Magazine (launched in January of the same year) and realized that our hypothesis about the demand for more positive programming was something that also played well in the video streaming world.
We knew there was a lot of good content out there that we could organize into one place for viewers to enjoy. SoulVision.TV is the result of those lessons.
We’ve got to ask, how has SoulVision.TV been funded? Did you raise outside investment?
The network is mostly self-funded by Soulidifly Productions (our parent media investment company). We also have some network partners who provide capital as well as our advertisers.
In fact, Rosie’s (a Colonial Downs company) came on board to support the launch celebration of our network on the evening of February 13th – see https://www.eventbrite.com/e/soulvisiontv-launch-celebration-tickets-87148759285. If any of your readers are in Richmond, VA around Valentine’s Day, they can use code “SVTV” at checkout – thanks to Rosie’s – and join our network launch celebration for free.
What advice would you give to crazy people wanting to start up their own TV channel?
They should focus on why they are doing it and if the reason is good and they are willing to do the work, I would say go for it. We did not start SoulVision.TV because we wanted to be famous or put ourselves on TV. It’s not a blog or anything that is designed to promote crazy videos or feed any “look at me” desires. SoulVision.TV is a place to find positive human stories.
As the Founding Chairman of the network, it is my core belief that America and the world is tired of all the negatives. Humanity is much more than what we see on TV today. It’s as if we are feeding our children a bunch of garbage with the hopes that they will do better. It’s “rubbish,” all puns intended. LOL. I’m sorry, it makes me laugh to think about it. Who thinks “car-wreck” TV is going to save lives?
There needs to be balance. Sure, we want all the news and we want to know what’s going on in the world. Right now that means “who got shot,” who died, and what bad things happened?” SoulVision.TV hopes to show that what matters more is who won at life and how they did it; who earned a scholarship and realized their dreams; who figured out how to live longer because they started eating better and treating themselves and others better. We seek to inspire a generation with positive human stories.
You’re working with some amazing creatives, who is the dream producer, filmmaker or director you’d love to work with?
I often mention Ava DuVernay as someone we would love to work with. I like her approach to storytelling and she is a beast behind the lens. Antoine Fuqua is also a filmmaker that we respect. I expect to work on a film project with Adam Leipzig in the near future. He is a rare soul on this earth. He started the film group at National Geographic, made the top two grossing documentaries ever – March of the Penguins and A Plastic Ocean. Adam is also creating a pioneering online film school that I am connected to – MediaU.com.
Soulidifly Productions will be dropping a film in 2020 with new-comer Brett Smith called Freedom’s Path. It’s going to be a stunner! Reggie Hudlin’s work is spectacular as well as the work of Stanley Nelson, Jr. Stanley directs some of the best documentaries out there today. I love biopics about important figures, especially when they show us a blueprint for good living.
Tell us about your launch celebration, how do our readers go about getting an invite?
The evening promises to be a night of “Love, Laughter and Soul.” The phenomenal Cecily will perform a full set and share some of her new songs as part of the celebration. Celebrity Chef J Ponder will bring the heat with select food choices. We will also have some surprise acts sharing comedy and great music. We invite everyone to come out for some family-friendly fun.
Thanks to Rosie’s, special VIP guests are able to enter code “SVTV” at checkout to enjoy the celebration for free– https://www.eventbrite.com/e/soulvisiontv-launch-celebration-tickets-87148759285. Your readers can join us next Thursday in Richmond, VA (2/13 at 6:30 PM at the Virginia Museum of History and Culture). Your readers deserve the best and we’re bringing it at SoulVision.TV!
What’s the vision for SoulVision.TV? In the streaming wars how will you stand out?
We have only scratched the surface of telling stories about the positive human narrative. Many of our shows will not have actors in them. They will be raw and authentic stories where viewers can feel the love and see themselves in our programming.
Some of our test audience cried when they saw our programs. They became inspired. We’re on to something at SVTV and I hope others will follow suit. We don’t want to dumb down the content for our viewers. We respect their intelligence and plan to engage their minds. We will stand out because we will help others to find their voice and stand up. Get off the couch. You matter.
Collectively, we can make the world a better place. We will show the blueprints for a meaningful and engaging fun-filled life. That’s what will make us different.
We got a sneak peek of your schedule, tell us about Eat.Sip.Social?
Chef J. Ponder is a beast with the flames! He is an award-winning chef and will do two original shows with us under the Eat.Sip.Social programming banner. One show is called The Chef’s Table. It is a cooking show where he will walk viewers through preparing healthy foods.
The second show is called Food for the Rich and follows Chef Ponder as he goes into the kitchens of his clients to prepare great food for them. Some of the clients are famous so that will add a little fun. The “rich” part is about his food and the quality and joy that comes from healthy eating.
The Story of Ed is such an inspiring project, can you talk us through how this will help people understand ALS?
We recently had a dear friend die from ALS. Her home-going service was laid out by her family (and designed by her) as “a final gift.” Ann King was a force. She was a friend. She loved the hope in Ed’s Story and encouraged us to go forward with it.
It takes courage to deal with something like ALS. Your body fails in new ways each day until your lungs give out and you die. The Story of Ed will help those going through ALS (patients and their families) to find the courage they need to go on. It will teach them not to take their days for granted and that they should never give up hope. Never give up hope!
Small Biz Chat sounds like a great resource for the business community, what type of guests should we expect to hear from?
The show host – Melinda Emerson – is a business phenomenon. She is a pioneer in the small-business space and will use her national recognition and notoriety to bring in other experts and business owners to share tips and secrets about owning and operating a small business.
Jammed sounds like an incredible show, tell us about how that came about?
I met the writer and director of Jammed, Emeka Mbadiwe, at a film festival in Miami, FL. He told me about his work and I was hooked after watching it. We will do a few shows with Emeka. His work is on the faith-based side, which is fine for SoulVision.TV.
In Jammed, he shares elements of a true story about a man who was about to commit a horrible crime at a church, and the gun jammed. Emeka has a way of pulling people into his stories that is very compelling.
Being 98 covers a topic that’s underrepresented in the media, do you plan to make more shows about issues relating to more seasoned people?
Absolutely! None of us are getting any younger. I’m “old” according to my kids and I’m just in my mid-fifties. Being 98 reminds us that as long as we are on the right side of the dirt, we have something to offer people we love. It’s a friendship short from our friend’s at I Like Giving.
Our network will feature a number of these authentic stories and we will not shy away from issues that shine a light on aging and the elderly. We should never forget those that paved the way for us. Seniors deserve dignity and our programming will speak to their issues too.
Many of your shows have a socio-political throughline, what do you hope your audience comes away with from them?
We hope our shows will help people to think more critically about what they are watching and how they take in information and what they do about it. We want our viewers to become more engaged in life.
Today we live in a 500 plus channel world. There is a lot of noise out there and a lot of today’s programming is a wasteland. I’m a technologist by training and we have a programming language saying – “garbage in; garbage out . . .” – relating to the quality of your programming code.
The same is true in TV. We need more good stuff on TV so that our young people and society can deliver more good stuff in the world. We hope to be among the vital necessities of tomorrow’s programming; not the garbage. If we do our work right, we can reduce the gap between critical thinking and the garbage of socio-political propaganda.
What new shows can we expect from SoulVision.TV in 2020?
We are working on more programming for kids and young adults. I think our youth are ready to get a little more sophistication in their TV diets. Human beings are living longer and at some point, our kids will have to take over. At some point, they will have to take care of us. If we build them upright, they will be positioned to do a much better job for us and themselves.
We also want to source more original shows. We are working on a local home improvement show, a sculpting show, and a reality show about living and going to school in New York City. Finally, we need to add more international programming.
We will look at our program data to see where the demand is coming from and we will work with our channel partners, content creators, and SoulVision.TV producers to select and create more content that lifts and inspires. SoulVision.TV will be the place people come to for positive human stories.
Follow Soulidifly, along with its films, books, SoulVision Magazine and SoulVision.TV, on the web at Soulidilfy.com and on Facebook (@SoulidiflyProductions), Instagram (@soulidiflyproductions), and Twitter (@SoulidiflyFilms).
