Michelle Rice, KLN ‘88, is a 15-year veteran of TV One and was named General Manager in July 2017. She is responsible for overseeing all business, operational and creative aspects of the network. In January 2019, she led the development and launch of TV One’s new sister network, CLEO TV, an aspirational lifestyle and entertainment TV network serving Millennial and Gen X women of color.
Prior to her promotion, Rice served as the Executive Vice President of Content Distribution and Marketing for TV One, where she developed distribution strategy and handled national accounts negotiations. She also handled domestic and international program sales and distribution for the network.
Before joining TV One, Rice had stints at iNDemand, NBC Cable Network and Black Entertainment Television (BET), where she started her career through the Walter Kaitz Fellowship program in 1993.
A graduate of Temple University and the University of Southern California, Rice has been named on CableFAX’s Top 100 in Cable, Top Minorities in Cable and Top Women in Cable. She’s also been recognized as a NAMIC Emerging Leader, Broadcasting & Cable’s “Next Wave of Leaders,” “40 under 40” by Multichannel News and one of Multichannel News’ Wonder Women. Rice has been featured in publications such as “Black Enterprise,” “Variety,” “Deadline,” “TV Week” and “The Root.” She was highlighted as a 2019 trailblazer in CableFAX’s Black History Month Special Report.
Rice is also actively involved on the boards of several local civic, community and charitable organizations, including Jack and Jill of America, Girls Inc. D.C. and United Way of the Nation’s Capital. She currently resides in Maryland with her family.