The cable networks available to American viewers are the prime barometers of the cultural segmentation of our times.  The latest specialized skein to be announced is the Blackbelt TV network, which will bring fans martial arts action 24 hours a day by combining over 15,000 hours of movie and TV series programming (everything from Drunken Master and The Karate Kid to the David Carradine Kung Fu TV show) with broadcasts of martial arts contests from all over the world.

 

For pop culture retailers the development of the Blackbelt TV network demonstrates the continuing appeal of martial arts movies and comics.  If the network succeeds it could help create new fans for the Hong Kong action films of Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, and Jet Li, and should also stir additional interest in the Kung Fu comics, both foreign (see 'Kung Fu Comics From Comics One') and domestic (Marvel's current revival of The Master of Kung Fu, Image's Bulletproof Monk), and the occasional RPG.