As BET continues to chart its future beyond the dying realm of cable networks, the brand has formed its first-ever board of advisors featuring a mix of celebrities and executives.
The Paramount-owned media group announced on Tuesday that the new board will “serve as a strategic and cultural sounding board” for the brand and help guide it “as BET expands its reach and continues to champion the voices and stories that move culture forward.” In other words, under the new leadership of Paramount Skydance, BET is looking for ways to evolve and grow its audience beyond the TV channel that made it famous.
Joining the inaugural board is BET founder Bob Johnson, musician and actress Queen Latifah, musical artist and actor LL Cool J, NFL evp of football operations Troy Vincent, Lazard president Raymond J. McGuire and Paramount chair of TV media George Cheeks.
“BET has always been more than a platform. It is a cultural institution with a responsibility to serve, reflect, and advance our community,” BET president Louis Carr said in a statement. “As we enter this next chapter, this Board brings together leaders whose influence, perspective, and integrity will help ensure we continue to honor that responsibility while building what comes next.”
The news arrives after Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison confirmed that he had no plans to sell BET to a third-party buyer last year, despite the brand previously being shopped around by previous owner Paramount Global. Instead, earlier this year the parent company bought out media mogul Tyler Perry’s stake in streaming service BET+ as it folded the brand’s programming into Paramount+.
“BET is a cornerstone of Black culture and an essential part of Paramount’s portfolio and long‑term content strategy,” BET president Carr wrote to employees at the time.
Beyond its basic cable channel, the 45-year-old media group operates FAST channels, studios, a live events business and produces digital content. It’s also recently dipped its toes into microdramas, partnering with the aTwist to develop and distribute these bite-sized series, as the brand has sought to reframe its brand for a multiplatform age.
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