Channel RVA Marks Four Months of Richmond Media Operations

By Billy Briefman · August 5, 2026 · 6 min read read

Tags: AI

Photo of Studio A inside West Broad Studios, home to Channel RVA

Channel RVA has completed its first four months of operation since launching in April, running six original shows, statewide news coverage, neighborhood games, and a contributor platform from a...

Channel RVA has completed its first four months of operation since launching in April, running six original shows, statewide news coverage, neighborhood games, and a contributor platform from a single Richmond hub.

The brand and platform was developed under Xponent21, the Richmond creative agency, and operates inside West Broad Studios, the agency's offices and production studios. Richmond readers, creators, and advertisers now have access to a local platform that combines news, original programming, city listings, and games in one place, according to Xponent21 founder and CEO Will Melton.

Production Runs Inside West Broad Studios

Channel RVA produces its programming in house at West Broad Studios, which operates a multi-camera setup with professional production, lighting, and sound equipment. The team also films on site at locations around Richmond.

Creators who work with Channel RVA have access to use that equipment and crew rather than sourcing their own, according to Melton.

Six Original Shows, With a 100-Episode Anchor

Channel RVA's original programming slate runs six owned shows, with more in development.

The flagship, America's Healthiest City, has aired more than 100 episodes, including an interview with Richmond Mayor Danny Avula on the city's water crisis. The show is a community partnership aimed at making the Richmond region the healthiest in the nation by 2033.

Creator Spotlight, hosted by Kayleigh Crandell, sits down with Richmond creators, entrepreneurs, and culture-makers. Live Vibe Coding with Will Melton builds software in real time using AI tools with no cuts and no scripts. The Agency follows the journey of building a modern agency in short film form. To The Power of X dives deep into marketing in the AI era.

Partner and independent shows on the platform cover business, leadership, health, food, music, and civic affairs, with titles from independent Richmond creators across Richmond.

Creator Support and Distribution

Channel RVA hosts independent creators for original programming and provides production support, distribution, sponsorship sales, and collaboration opportunities. Creators who take part get access to the studio's production capacity and to Channel RVA's sales operation for sponsorship on their programs.

The platform also carries podcasts and video from local media creators who publish to public feeds, and it invites the Channel RVA audience to follow or subscribe to those creators directly. Creators keep their own audience relationships through those public feeds while reaching Channel RVA readers.

News Coverage Across Virginia

Channel RVA aggregates news from across Virginia. It also covers national and international stories when those stories affect a reader's wallet.

Games and Neighborhood Competition

The platform runs an array of games and trivia, including Turf Wars, which pits Richmond neighborhoods against each other. Readers compete by engaging with the platform and by showing up around Richmond, and their points roll up to their neighborhood's total.

Trivia also runs inside the video platform's interactive features, so readers play and earn points during a broadcast rather than in a separate section of the site.

Gaming Broadcast Network in Development

Channel RVA is finalizing a gaming broadcast network for restaurants, breweries, and other venues with a captive audience. The network will include custom games built around RVA staples, according to Melton. Venue operators will be able to run that programming on their own screens. Programming is synchronized across venues and players across the city play against each other. The network is fully automated, providing venues with a no-fuss entertainment solution that brings in customers and drives loyalty.

Personal Calendar Syncs to Readers' Devices

The platform's personal calendar feature lets readers add restaurants, murals, and events from across Richmond. Readers choose whether to share a calendar publicly, with friends, or keep it private, and events sync from a Channel RVA calendar to a reader's personal device calendar instantly.

Channel RVA also connects readers to local food, local music, local events, public art, the weather, and horoscopes.

Contributor Tools

Melton describes the platform's technology as rivaling that of The New York Times. Contributors use it to submit content, stream live, download media credentials for event access, add events to the Channel RVA calendar, and submit public art to RVA Art. The system also carries a streamlined editing process for the newsroom.

Anyone in Richmond with a story, an event, or a piece of public art can submit through those tools, and credentialed contributors can pull media credentials for access to events they cover.

Sponsorship and Advertising Inventory

Channel RVA offers sponsorship and advertising assets across every part of its operation. Online placements span the full platform, from article pages and the homepage to the daily digest that lands in subscribers' inboxes. Original programming is available for sponsorship by show or by episode. The gaming broadcast network, once live, adds venue screens at restaurants and breweries across Richmond. The Channel RVA-owned Richmond Water sustainable hydration stations extend the footprint into physical spaces around the city. Advertisers can reach Channel RVA's audience through a single placement or across the entire portfolio.

First Friday Block Parties

Channel RVA has hosted a subscriber block party at West Broad Studios on the first Friday of every month since April, bringing Richmond readers together in person at 316 West Broad Street. Each event has carried its own theme — from hot dogs to kick things off in April and a taco block party in May to a burger night in June and a Philly cheesesteak popup marking America's 250th anniversary in July. This Friday's event, on Aug. 7, celebrates National Black Business Month in partnership with the Metropolitan Business League, with food from Bajan Goodness and a live showcase of projects from Hack for RVA teams. Events through October are already on the calendar.

What's Ahead

Channel RVA continues introducing new creators, new shows, new content, and new features as it connects to more facets of Richmond, according to Melton. The gaming broadcast network is the closest addition, with additional original programming behind it.

Readers can join a neighborhood in Turf Wars, build a Richmond calendar and sync it to their phones, follow local creators through the platform's public feeds, and submit their own events, stories, and public art through the contributor tools.

Disclosure: The Channel RVA brand is owned by Xponent21, the parent company of the West Broad Studios and America's Healthiest City brands.