Cam Newton wants to honor BET’s ‘106 & Park’ with ‘106 & Sports,’ not copy it
At a recent taping of the new BET talk show “106 & Sports,” Cam Newton didn’t waste any time going off script and ignoring the teleprompter.
“We say we got an edge on everybody in show business and everybody on TV,” Newton told the crowd, which was comprised of students from four different historically Black colleges. “The people who came before us made this show great. But you got to do what you got to do to make this show great. We have the littlest crowd on TV!”
The audience responded with loud roll calls emanating from representatives of each university in the crowd: Kentucky State, Morehouse, Savannah State and Clark Atlanta.
Former NFL quarterback and Atlanta resident Newton serves as host of “106 & Sports” along with sports analyst Ashley Nicole Moss. The show is a spin-off of “106 & Park,” the popular BET version of MTV’s “Total Request Live” from the 2000s and early 2010s.
Pre-taped at Tyler Perry Studios, the weekly hour-long show melds Black culture and sports. The series debuted in October and has a 20-episode commitment.
“‘106 & Park’ has meant so much to the culture, and expanding the IP felt like the most thoughtful way to honor that legacy without trying to recreate exactly what the show was 25 years ago,” said Tiffany Lea Williams, BET’s vice president of unscripted programming and development.
Placing it in Newton’s backyard of Atlanta was a deliberate choice.
“Filming in Atlanta made sense for this chapter,” Williams said. “The city’s HBCU roots and vibrant Black creative community added an authenticity and energy that helped define the launch.”
The energy on the show is indeed loose, with Newton cutting up with audience members during commercial breaks. Newton offers a chill, confident vibe while Moss is a potpourri of poise, journalistic professionalism and positivity.
“106 & Sports” is not a low-budget affair. The set is immense, with high ceilings, big LED screens, a massive couch and multiple bleacher areas for the audience, many of whom stand the entire time. Behind the stage, the control room features more than 20 people providing a din of advice and consult.
Since the show is taped sometimes weeks in advance, the hosts deliberately avoid subject matter that is too current, like the results of a recent football game. Instead, the editors insert a brief video segment highlighting fresh sports news after the fact.
There are also guests from the sports world such as Atlanta Dream’s Brittney Griner, tennis star Taylor Townsend, former NFL wide receiver Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson and NBA legend Tim Hardaway Sr.
And while “106 & Park” counted down the 10 hottest hip-hop videos of the week, “106 & Sports” touches on five sports-related topics each week.
During the Thanksgiving Eve episode, the hosts discussed sports teams moving cities, a new women’s basketball league, the next generation of famous athletes, and the lack of attention major networks give to HBCU sports.
“For the TV rights, I challenge the networks to give opportunities to HBCUs,” Newton said. “It’s worth the watch. It makes sense with an S. We need you all to make it make cents with a C!”
Newton and Moss then did a goofy mock draft of Thanksgiving Day foods. (Moss’ choices were far more popular with the rambunctious audience to the point that Newton tried to steal her first pick of mac and cheese.)
Newton, in a brief Zoom call with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, said he wants to honor the original show, but at the same time, “we knew we didn’t want to recreate what already was. We have too much respect for the individuals who came before us. We want to make sure they enjoy what they’re seeing. As long as the viewer feels we are being authentic, we’ve done our jobs.”
After taping several shows, Moss said they are now in the groove: “We know what stories we want to cover. I think we’ve figured out how to tackle certain stories. But more importantly, we know how we want the show to feel, how we want it to resonate.”
So far, clips of Griner challenging DeMarcus Cousins to a one-and-one battle and Newton calling out players on Grambling State and Bethune-Cookman getting in a brawl have gone viral.
Newton admits the show is evolving and hopefully improving with each episode.
“This show took such a long sabbatical,” Newton said, “it’s going to take time for us to find our voice, to find our intentions, to capture the right tone. We’re learning that just because it’s on Fox’s or ESPN’s slate, it doesn’t mean it’s going to do well on BET’s slate.”
If you watch
“106 & Sports,” 10 p.m. Wednesdays, BET and available on BET+
About the Author
Rodney Ho writes about entertainment for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution including TV, radio, film, comedy and all things in between. A native New Yorker, he has covered education at The Virginian-Pilot, small business for The Wall Street Journal and a host of beats at the AJC over 20-plus years. He loves tennis, pop culture & seeing live events.
