Tyler Perry reportedly is planning to buy the majority stake in BET, and fans were thrilled to learn the news. Black Entertainment Television is currently owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global.
The Hollywood Reporter notes that Paramount may be looking to sell a majority stake in BET, and Perry is in talks to potentially take ownership.
Perry has been in partnership with BET since 2017, and the network also helped the filmmaker fund his first film, “Diary of a Mad Black Woman,” in 2005.
Fans were excited to learn that the network could again be a Black-owned company. BET was sold to ViacomCBS Inc. back in 2000 for $2.3 billion. The company merged with Paramount last year.
May fans of Perry’s fans on Twitter said he would do a great job owning BET because he understands the value of BET.
“I think it’s fantastic and would be in the hands of a man who really would value the network,” they wrote. Another fan replied, “Protect him at all costs.”
A third said, “Hope they don’t Cosby him.”
Comedian Bill Cosby had once been interested in buying NBC and reportedly hired Goldman Sachs to help him find the financing to purchase the network for around $4 billion. Some believe that the sexual allegations against Cosby stemmed from his desire to buy NBC.
Another said, “I am 100,000 percent down with this because as most of you already know BET is owned by white folks which is…bizarre to say the least and a complete conflict of interest and is the main reason I don’t watch or support the channel, Tyler will do great with the channel!”
Perry has yet to comment on the sale publically, but he recently noted the 18th anniversary of his first film with a post shared on Twitter.
“They said I wouldn’t make it, they said I was a flash in the pan! But what they didn’t know is GOD GAVE ME YOU! Your support has meant everything,” wrote Perry. “Thank you so much for holding me up. 18 years ago today my first movie Diary of a Mad Black Woman opened at number one.”
Perry isn’t the only candidate eyeing the BET stakes. Media mogul Byron Allen, who purchased the Black News Channel for $11 million in 2022, is also reportedly interested in buying the network.
Allen also owns The Weather Channel, TheGrio and has invested more than $1 billion to acquire multiple affiliates of Fox, ABC, NBC and CBS.
Perry and Paramount are in the early stages of discussing a possible deal. He is also an investor in BET+, which is the company’s streaming platform. The “Madea” creator currently has several shows airing on BET and BET+, including “Sisters,” “House of Payne,” and “The Oval.”
If this deal goes through, Perry will officially be the owner of the network that has aired his shows and movies for years.
