Paramount Cancels The $3 Billion Sale Of BET:
The main stake in BET won’t be sold because Paramount Global chose not to sell it. Sources told The Post that Paramount Global has stopped a sale of Black Entertainment Group because the bids from people like media mogul Tyler Perry were not good enough.
A person who knew about the decision but wasn’t allowed to talk about it publicly said that Paramount told buyers late Wednesday night regarding its choice to end the BET Media Group sale process.
The person said that after talking to a few very experienced financial advisors, the company decided that keeping a big stake in BET would bring Paramount more value than any of the other ideas.
Perry Was A Strong Candidate Because Of His Two Popular Shows, “The Oval” As Well As “Sistas”:
The actor and director Tyler Perry, music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, as well as investor Byron Allen were all hot candidates.
At one point, Perry was seen as a top candidate because the network was showing two popular shows, “The Oval” as well as “Sistas,” which were doing well.
He also has a small amount of stock in the streaming service BET+. A source said that at the end of Wednesday, Paramount Global quietly told buyers that the sale had been called off.
A person close to Paramount tells The Post, “We reached this decision due to keeping a majority stake within BET Media Group gives Paramount more value than any of the other proposals we got.”
A Person Said That Paramount Was Looking For A Plan “That Might Return The Property To Black Ownership.”:
The source said that Paramount was looking for an agreement “that might return the property to black ownership” alongside a “party that might serve as a good partner as well as an accountable steward of the assets as well as the mission,” but they didn’t find one.
Robert Johnson and Sheila Johnson, who was his wife at the time, started BET in 1980. Robert Johnson started BET within the basement of his Washington, D.C., home with a $500,000 loan from John Malone, an experienced cable executive. Over time, Johnson built BET into the most popular TV network for black Americans.
Johnson grew BET by making smaller digital networks for jazz, gospel, and hip-hop fans. He also started a publishing house and a company that puts on events.
The Network Became The Initial TV Company Run By Black People In 1990:
At first, the most popular shows on the network were “Bobby Jones Gospel,” “Rap City,” “ComicView,” “Lift Every Voice,” as well as “Teen Summit.”
At the beginning of the 1990s, the network was the first black-run TV company to be traded upon the New York Stock Exchange.
Over the past ten years, BET has lost both customers and money. S&P Global says that there will be about 66.3 million cable TV subscribers in 2022, down from 89.5 million within 2014, which was the peak year for cable TV.
S&P said that the cable network’s yearly profits have dropped from a high of $319 million within 2013 to an expected low of $188 million within 2022.
The best thing about buying BET Media Group could be considered BET+, which came out in 2019. BET says that over 3 million individuals use the video service.
Sheila Traded BET To Viacom For $3 Billion In The Year 2000:
After Johnson as well as his then-wife Sheila sold BET to Viacom for $3 billion in 2000, which made them the first black billionaires in the country, BET added more shows. He led the company as CEO until 2006.
“Paramount was against selling BET to Byron Allen,” a company source said, citing Allen’s lack of guaranteed funding. Instead, over the past couple of weeks, the company is pushing Perry, who already has a 25% share in BET’s streaming service BET+, to raise his offer.
“106 & Park” became one of the most popular shows on BET. It gave people like A.J. Calloway, Marie “Free” Wright, Terrence J., as well as Rocsi Diaz a chance to become well-known.
The BET Awards Were Started By The Network To Honor What People Of Color Have Done:
The daily show, which started in 2000 and ran for more than a decade, did well with a video countdown, interviews, as well as acts. The network started the BET Awards a year later to honor the achievements of people of color in culture and sports.
BET was a place for years where black people were shown in a good way. But in the middle of the 2000s, BET’s shows were heavily criticized by well-known people like Spike Lee and Chuck D of Public Enemy, who said they showed African Americans within a bad way.
Big Boi of OutKast was surprised by some of the things on Uncut. He called them “disgusting” and “soft porn.”
Politicians And Activists Showed Their Anger:
Other politicians and activists expressed their anger, and the network’s co-founder at the time, Sheila Johnson, said in an interview in 2010 that she felt ashamed of the network and that no one should watch it, not even her own children.
Because of the complaints, BET changed the way it did things. The company found out what their fans wanted to see and made a lineup of more family-friendly shows like “Reed Between the Lines” as well as “Let’s Stay Together.”
It additionally bought back “The Game,” which became the most-watched show in the network’s history after fans asked for it to come back after it was canceled on the CW.
The Decision To Stop Selling BET Was Made Based On Paramount’s Earnings Reports For The Second Quarter:
The decision to stop selling BET came after Paramount’s second-quarter earnings report. In that report, the media giant said that its streaming business lost $424 million in the three months running up to June 30.
Some of its most popular shows right now are “Sistas,” “All the Queen’s Men,” “First Wives Club,” as well as “Tyler Perry’s The Oval.” “American Soul,” “Tales,” and “Boomerang” are some of the other shows upon the network.
