New ‘HBCU First Look’ Channel Coming to Tubi in 2026
*Howard College alum Sheila Eldridge has partnered with Tubi to create a game-changing house for HBCU filmmakers. The brand new streaming channel, known as “HBCU First Look,” will debut subsequent month in February on the free Tubi platform. It’s going to function greater than 100 movies by college students and alumni from traditionally Black schools and universities.
This initiative was introduced in the course of the 2025 HBCU First Look Movie Pageant’s awards ceremony in November. Eldridge, the pageant’s founder and CEO of Miles Forward Leisure, known as the partnership a milestone for Black creatives. The aim is to amplify underrepresented voices in movie and tv.
Sheila Eldridge’s Profession Comes Full Circle with This Deal
Sheila Eldridge graduated from Howard in 1975 and started her profession on the campus radio station WHUR-FM. That early expertise sparked her ardour for media and storytelling. Through the years, she launched Miles Forward Leisure, a advertising and broadcasting firm.
She’s additionally behind “Café Mocha Radio,” a syndicated present hosted by Loni Love, Yoyo, and Angelique Perrin, airing in 30 markets nationwide. Eldridge’s affect spans many years, and her new partnership with Tubi brings her mission of empowering HBCU filmmakers to a worldwide platform.
HBCU Filmmakers Get International Attain and Income Share
The “HBCU First Look” channel is greater than only a showcase—it’s a enterprise alternative. Eldridge confirmed the deal features a revenue-sharing mannequin that permits pupil and alumni filmmakers to earn from their work. This marks a giant shift in entry for rising Black creatives.
“We had been in a position to create a income mannequin in order that college students can also partake in a number of the income,” Eldridge informed Howard College’s The Dig. “That was essential to me as a result of we wish to see the subsequent Spike Lee, the subsequent Ryan Coogler, or Ava DuVernay.”
Highlight on STRUT the Yard and Rising Expertise
One of many standout movies featured on the upcoming channel is “STRUT the Yard.” Directed by Future Stubbs, a 2025 Howard graduate, the documentary provides a behind-the-scenes have a look at the college’s Springfest trend present.
The movie explores the emotional and psychological well being challenges fashions face, incomes important reward and a number of other honors. It positioned second within the 2025 HBCU First Look Movie Pageant and received Greatest Characteristic Movie. Stubbs is shortly gaining recognition for bringing genuine HBCU tales to the display.
How the HBCU First Look Pageant Builds Black Artistic Futures
Based by Eldridge, the HBCU First Look Movie Pageant is greater than an occasion—it’s a pipeline. It connects pupil filmmakers with the trade and gives platforms like Tubi to distribute their work. This yr’s pageant accepted over 550 submissions.
Movies chosen for the brand new channel mirror numerous experiences, from documentaries to narrative options. The pageant continues accepting entries for its 2026 slate through hbcufirstlook.com. The venture stays a important launchpad for recent Black voices in media.
Sheila Eldridge’s Lengthy Legacy of Uplifting Black Media
Eldridge’s media profession started when she labored below the mentorship of Cathy Hughes at WHUR-FM. She fondly recollects babysitting Hughes’ son, Alfred Liggins III, who’s now CEO of City One.
Through the years, Eldridge has labored with top-tier manufacturers and establishments, together with Coca-Cola, the Apollo Theater, and the Smithsonian’s African American Historical past Museum. Her dedication to Black storytelling and tradition has been a relentless all through her profession.
Why the ‘HBCU First Look’ Channel Is a Massive Deal
This partnership opens the door for Black pupil filmmakers to be seen and heard all over the world. In contrast to conventional platforms, Tubi’s free, ad-supported mannequin ensures these movies are accessible to broad audiences.
With HBCU filmmakers on the middle, the channel promotes instructional fairness, cultural visibility, and artistic possession. The February 2026 launch is a turning level in how Black tales are shared—and who will get to inform them.
What’s Subsequent for the HBCU First Look Motion
The brand new Tubi channel is only the start. Eldridge plans to develop the pageant’s influence via extra partnerships, trade mentorships, and artistic improvement applications.
Pupil creators like Future Stubbs are already making waves, and platforms like “HBCU First Look” guarantee they proceed to rise. It’s a brand new period for Black media—and HBCU filmmakers are main the cost.
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