Paramount is reportedly exploring selling its majority stake in BET and early discussions are taking place with Tyler Perry.
The Hollywood Reporter writes that according to its sources, Paramount is looking into selling its majority stake in BET, VH1 and BET+. Perry is thought to be in talks regarding the potential sale. If Perry does get the sale, it would mean he would have entire majority ownership of the BET brand. Perry already has a partnership with Paramount and BET via his role in launching BET+, which also airs many of his streaming shows.
The news, which also been reported by Deadline, was first broken by The Wall Street Journal, which reported that the potential sale is part of Paramount’s attempts to raise more money for Paramount+ and Pluto TV.
There’s nothing in stone either way about if Paramount will sell or if Perry will buy, but if Paramount does go through with the sale, it will then own a minority stake in the BET business and still maintain a commercial relationship.
If Perry does get the lion’s share of BET+, this would mean that he could turn it into a new business. Advertisers looking to cater more towards Black audiences would also love BET if it was out of Paramount and fully under Perry’s ownership, allowing them to more directly advertise to Black consumers.
