Some popular suitors included actor-director Tyler Perry, music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs and businessman Byron Allen. At one point, some considered Perry as a leading contender based on the two successful series, “The Oval” and “Sistas,” airing on the network. He also owns a minority stake of the BET+ streaming service.
Along with BET, the deal would have included the cable channel VH1.
BET was originally started by Robert and then-wife Sheila Johnson in 1980. Robert Johnson created BET from the basement of his Washington home after securing a $500,000 loan from longtime cable executive John Malone and eventually built the brand into the leading TV network for Black Americans.
Johnson expanded BET by creating smaller digital networks geared to fans of jazz, gospel and hip-hop along with being a publishing house and event production firm. The network was initially led by popular shows like “Bobby Jones Gospel,” “Rap City,” “ComicView,” “Lift Every Voice” and “Teen Summit.”
In the early 1990s, the network became the first Black-controlled television company to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
BET has seen a decline in subscribers and revenue over the past decade. Subscribers fell to an estimated 66.3 million in 2022 from 89.5 million in 2014, a peak year for cable television, according to S&P Global. S&P said the cable network’s annual profits have fallen from an estimated peak of $319 million in 2013 to $188 million in 2022.
Source: Hip-Hop DX
No comments:
Post a Comment