Tyler Perry is Looking to Take Ownership of BET Through Purchase of Majority Stake
LOS ANGELES, CA. January 06, 2019: Tyler Perry at the 2019 Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
Credit: Featureflash Photo Agency via Shutterstock
By: Omar Cook
Tyler Perry has been a staple on BET for years, with hit shows like House of Payne and The Oval, so it’s no surprise that news broke this week of Perry being in conversations to potentially purchase Paramount Global’s majority stake in BET, giving him ownership of the network.
Tyler Perry is currently signed to a deal with Paramount which is expected to end soon, and this new deal with BET would give Perry full control over a network that includes BET, BET+, and VH1. In 2000, Paramount, which was formerly Viacom, acquired BET for $2.3 billion.
Variety confirmed that mogul Byron Allen is also looking to pursue purchasing the network. Allen and his company, Allen Media Group, have been very active in the last 3 years investing over $1 billion to acquire 27 ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox affiliates.
Perry and BET have been in partnership for almost 2 decades as BET assisted Perry with funding his debut feature film, Diary of a Mad Black Woman. Perry also has multiple other shows on BET including Sisters, Ruthless, Assisted Living, and Zatima.
BET was founded on January 25, 1980 by media entrepreneur Robert L. Johnson, with the vision to reach African American audiences through cable TV, and that vision has been successful.
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