It looks like the Soul Train brand is in for renewal with its acquisition by MadVision Entertainment from Don Cornelius:
"The plan is to open up the show’s archives for older consumers as well as to create a new version of the program for younger ones. ‘The series has never been shown on DVD, and it’s not been utilized on video-on-demand or mobile or Internet platforms,’ Peter Griffith, a co-founder of MadVision, said."
MadVision was founded in 2006 and is "best known for the Showtime stand-up comedy series ‘White Boyz in the Hood’":
"One of the founders of MadVision, Kenard Gibbs, is the group publisher of Ebony and Jet magazines. Another founder, Anthony Maddox, worked as a producer at NBC and ran Sean Combs’s Bad Boy Films. Mr. Griffith, the third partner, founded a hip-hop Web portal and worked with Vibe to extend the magazine’s brand."
MadVision Entertainment has some level of backing from private equity firm InterMedia Partners.
Official Site:
Soul Train
There’s a new book out about the show, called A CRITICAL HISTORY OF SOUL TRAIN ON TELEVISION. It looks at the show from its start in Chicago in 1970 to the national franchise of 2008. It contains interviews with former dancers, guests, and colleagues of Cornelius.
This is the weblink. http://www.mcfarlandpub.com/book-2.php?id=978-0-7864-3669-9