NEW YORK (AP) — The philanthropist, sports franchise executive and co-founder of Black Entertainment Television, Sheila Johnson, has a memoir scheduled for September. “Walk Through Fire” will document her rise from suburban Chicago to becoming a pioneering billionaire as a Black woman, and how she endured her troubled marriage to fellow BET founder Robert L. […]
Sean “Diddy” Combs is entering the race to buy BET, joining fellow media moguls Tyler Perry and Byron Allen as they vie to purchase a majority stake of BET Media Group amid reports that owner Paramount Global is exploring a sale of the asset. A source close to Combs tells Variety that the global music icon and record executive turned multi-industry entrepreneur is “exploring the opportunity to purchase BET as a part of his strategy to build a Black-owned global media powerhouse.”
Group Black, a media company in Miami run by Black executives, has expressed interest in a bid with CVC Capital Partners, a private-equity firm based in Luxembourg with more than $100 billion under management. To round out its bid, Group Black, led by Travis Montaque, the chief executive, has begun reaching out to prominent Black businesspeople and artists to team up. This follows news that Tyler Perry and Byron Allen have expressed interest in buying the Paramount network.
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Paramount is exploring a potential sale of a majority stake in its BET business, which includes BET, VH1 and the BET+ streaming service. Among interested buyers are Tyler Perry, a longtime partner of BET, who is engaged in conversations to buy the stake., and Byron Allen, who controls a number of local TV stations as well as The Weather Channel and other assets via his Allen Media Group and Entertainment Studios firms. “Byron Allen is interested in buying BET, and he will be pursuing the acquisition of the network,” a rep for the mogul says.
Paramount is exploring a potential sale of a majority stake in its BET business, which includes BET, VH1, and the BET+ streaming service, a source familiar with the matter says. The source cautioned that the discussions are still in the early stages, and there is no guarantee of any transaction taking place. They added that if a deal closes, Paramount expects to maintain a minority stake in the business, as well as a commercial relationship. Scott Mills is BET’s CEO.
Paramount Global-owned brands CBS News, BET and VH1 are collaborating on a new monthly primetime newsmagazine show. America in Black will debut Sunday, Feb. 19, on BET and VH1 in the 10 p.m. hour, and it will feature a mix of original longform investigative reports, one-on-one newsmaker interviews, human interest stories and exclusive in-depth celebrity profiles.
Simone Oliver is tapped as senior vice president of digital content, while Jason Odom becomes senior vice president of digital operations.
Mills spent four years as president of BET before being elevated to CEO. He has held a variety of executive roles since joining BET in 1997.
The multi-pronged commitment seeks to apply research, data and quantifiable targets to effect societal change, starting with racial equity and mental health.
“If you are working on commercials or for HBO, Showtime, Starz, Cinemax, BET or another company that has a contract still in effect – you must keep working,” IATSE informed its members. “You will not be a scab!” (Image: HBO; IATSE; BET)
On the heels of the opening of its new studio on the Las Vegas Strip and the return of its sports betting television program Daily Wager, ESPN is expanding its sports betting footprint with Monday’s debut of Bet, a new half-hour program that will stream three nights per week on digital platforms. Also on Monday, ESPN is […]
Sunday’s show, a virtual event because of the coronavirus pandemic, featured a number of highly produced, well-crafted and taped performances. The BET Awards kicked off with Black artists rapping and singing anthems about the Black experience and fighting for equal rights. Among them, DaBaby, with his face pressed against the ground as an officer’s knee crippled his neck — replicating the last moments of George Floyd’s life — rapped a verse from the Black Lives Matter remix of his hit song Rockstar.
DJ Khaled, Charlie Wilson, Chance the Rapper, Kirk Franklin, Fantasia and Melvin Crispell III are slated to perform in a special BET show that will assist people of color in dealing with the coronavirus. The “Saving Our Selves: A BET COVID-19 Relief Effort” broadcast special will air April 22 at 8 p.m. EDT. The special […]
BET Networks and Tyler Perry Studios have set a Thursday, Sept. 19, launch date for BET+, its new SVOD platform that will feature more than 1,000 hours of premium content. It will cost viewers $9.99 a month.
Viacom plans to launch a streaming service focused on the African-American cable network called BET+. The upcoming service, which will launch in the fall, will feature original content from Tyler Perry, who will be a financial stakeholder in the service.
As Death Row Records co-founder Marion “Suge” Knight prepares to defend himself at a murder trial, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge has convened an emergency hearing Tuesday morning to discuss an application by two journalists who have been summoned to testify before a grand jury.
Scott M. Mills assumes day-to-day responsibility for the Viacom cable network.
