Media Mogul Byron Allen & Tyler Perry Both Are Interested In Buying BET As Paramount Explores Sale Of Majority Stake
(HOLLYWOOD, CA) Media News: Media Mogul Byron Allen said he wants to buy Black Entertainment Television as Paramount Global is looking to sale asset. He is the second black media Mogul expressing interest after Tyler Perry, who also is said to have expressed interest in the network.
“Byron Allen is interested in buying BET, and he will be pursuing the acquisition of the network,” a spokesman for the Allen Media Group said in a statement.
Perry, who has a strong relationship with BET CEO Scott Mills as well as Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish, has expressed interest to Paramount in owning the asset as his own producing deal with BET is coming to an end. He supplies a large portion of the scripted content on BET and BET+, and is a partner with Paramount on the streaming service launched in 2019.
It’s early days and given BET’s iconic status within Black culture and the Black creative community, it could see interest from other Black high-net worth individuals or minority-owned institutions. A person familiar with the situation said Paramount would maintain a minority stake as well as commercial agreements with BET for content across its platforms in any deal.
Paramount has been clear about its desire to explore opportunities to raise cash, including an attempt to sell publisher Simon & Shuster. Its move with BET Media was first reported in the Wall Street Journal. The company declined to comment.
The division includes the BET linear networks, BET+, BET Studios, launched in 2021 with partners Kenya Barris, Rashida Jones and Aaron Rashon Thomas, and VH1, which was moved under the BET umbrella last year.
BET, or Black Entertainment Television, was founded by Robert Johnson in 1980, the first cable channel to cater to Black audiences. It was acquired by Viacom in 2001 in a deal worth $3 billion.
