*On June 13, 2023, EURweb reported that billionaire Tyler Perry, 53, had acquired BET Media Group from Paramount Global. Many other notable Black contenders were also considering purchasing the platform, like a serial entrepreneur and hip hop mogul Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs and media businessman Byron Allen, according to News One.
Viewers of BET had expressed their desire for the network to return to Black ownership, so when news broke that Perry had allegedly sealed the deal, social media erupted with celebration. Other media outlets also reposted the story, yet neither Perry nor BET has made any official statements corroborating the story.
The news originated from TheStreamer which has since scrubbed the announcement from its website.
In April 2023, Perry did express interest in purchasing the network when he spoke to Entertainment Tonight, “I’ve been there for four years now and had tremendous success. I wasn’t expecting this to happen, so, yes — if that is possible, I’m very, very interested in taking as much of it…”
He added, “If it’s possible, I’m gonna take as much of it as I can. Part of it is — and I’ve read about Byron Allen and Puffy and everybody wanting to bid and so on and so forth, and I think it’s really great,” the entertainment mogul pointed out. “This is what I love about it — when Bob Johnson sold it in 2000, I think it was, there wasn’t one black person who could buy it. So now, to see all of these black people, men and women, who are able to be in a position to buy it? Man, that makes me feel really, really excited.”
Presently, Perry is a minority stakeholder in the company alongside Kenya Barris, Rashida Jones, and Aaron Rahsaan Thomas. Perry also assisted in launching BET+ in 2019, the network’s streaming service.
“I think there was sadness when Bob sold it, and I think there’ll be happiness when it’s Black-owned again,” Perry said. “And even though Shari (Redstone) and what is it? Viacom and Paramount? They’ve done a phenomenal job with it. They didn’t let it fall by the wayside; they didn’t let it go into dust. They nurtured it and took care of it.”
Meanwhile, here are some reactions to the latest news via Twitter:
Just FYI, the original report on this Tyler Perry BET news has been taken down: https://t.co/GQqOFT5eka
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) June 13, 2023
Shaderoom isnt good enough for you⁉️????????????
— Fried Drexler (@yardbeets) June 13, 2023
Hmmmm, reports that #TylerPerry finalized a deal to acquire BET may have been premature. The Streamr reported yesterday that Tyler Perry agreed to purchase BET from parent company Paramount Global for an undisclosed figure. pic.twitter.com/ZVtiZyFclA
— theJasmineBRAND (@thejasminebrand) June 13, 2023
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