I've already given props to BET for its latest original programming efforts, as next season's lineup was revealed publicly about a week ago, getting many of you excited about the potential.

Obviously, there's still work to be done, but the network appears to be making the kinds of strides that countless black audiences have been calling for over the last decade.

Remember Hot Ghetto Mess? Later changed to We Got to Do Better, after all the backlash that followed after its initial airing; and to think that was less than 5 years ago! Not too long in the past – the fall of 2007 specifically. 

And in early 2012, the network announced its pickups of mature, complex material like Ava DuVernay's Middle Of Nowhere, and Sheldon Candis' LUV (both will be TV premieres), along with bringing former CNN anchor T.J. Holmes onboard to host a late night series, as well as a new hour-long drama series from the Akils, and more. 

Change is here, right?

Will BET see a return to the network, by disappointed audiences that left it years ago, after years of unappealing programming? Will they lose audiences who prefer the old BET, or have they already lost them? Is there a balancing act that the network will have to maintain in order to try and keep everyone happy? Should it even try? After all, you really can't please everyone all the time.

Like I said, these are all relatively new developments, so who knows what the network will look like in 5 to 10 years? Who knows what the black TV marketplace will look like, given the number of new networks that have been announced in the last year? How many of them will survive? 

One thing we can be sure of is that the field just got even more competitive, and that's usually a good thing for the consumer. 

But time will tell.

I came across this report from Ad Age magazine which attempts to answer some of these questions I posed, especially the question of whether the rise in the number of new networks appealing to black audiences will encourage ad spending to reach that demo.

Here's a snip:

Viacom's BET has been the only real juggernaut in African-American TV programming in more than 30 years, but the network is about to get its first real taste of competition. Among its challenges are cable networks from Magic Johnson and Sean "Diddy" Combs backed by Comcast, a doubling of the content slate at TV One and the launch of several local networks targeting minorities.

BET is responding by beefing up its investment in scripted programming and making its first foray into original movies.

But the crucial question is whether advertisers, with more opportunities to target the demo, will increase their budgets in the African-American market or simply take money out of BET.

"Just because more supply is added doesn't mean advertisers will increase their budget, but if these new networks substantially grow ratings, [advertisers] might put in more money," said Rob Bochicchio, exec VP-chief media investment officer at ID Media.

BET is in a better position to retain advertiser support than it was a few years ago, when ratings were at a standstill and the network was perceived as a riskier place for ads.

In 2007, it faced backlash for the comedy series "Hot Ghetto Mess." The show evoked scorn from the black community, and several big advertisers pulled out.

Read the rest of the piece HERE.