The majority ownership stake of BET Media Group that includes VH1 and BET+ is reportedly up for sale, with Paramount focusing on expanding Paramount+ as the brand merges with Showtime.
Tyler Perry and Byron Allen are both rumored to be in the process of acquiring the network. Perry is currently a minority stake holder, along with others including Kenya Barris and Rashida Jones. He also helped launch BET+ in 2019.
The Madea mogul and BET’s history date back to 2005 when the network helped fund his first feature film, Diary Of A Mad Black Woman. In 2017, he signed a film and TV deal with BET in which Viacom obtained exclusive licensing rights on the television programming as well as exclusive distribution rights to his short-form video content. Paramount Pictures garnered first-look rights on his feature films.
Currently, a large portion of Perry’s shows like House of Payne, Sistas, The Oval, Ruthless, Zatima, and Assisted Living are all available on BET and BET+, alongside select Madea plays.
For Allen, he acquired the Black News Channel for $11 million last year and also owns The Weather Channel, Local Now, HBCU GO, and TheGrio. His company, Allen Media Group, has also invested over $1 billion over the past three years to acquire 27 ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox affiliates, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The outlet was the first to report on Paramount Global potentially selling BET and explained, “The discussions between Mr. Perry and Paramount come as the company is considering selling the majority stake in BET Media Group, which includes the cable channels BET and VH1, people familiar with the matter said. A potential sale of part of the unit, which caters primarily to Black audiences, is part of the entertainment giant’s effort to shore up resources to bolster its flagship Paramount+ streaming service and its advertiser-supported free streaming platform Pluto TV.”
If the sale goes through, Paramount does intend to maintain a “commercial relationship” with BET. However, those who’ve been urging BET to revert back into being Black-owned are torn by these reports, as seen on Twitter.
There’s no word on when this sale will be finalized.