by Shanique Yates

July 5, 2024

BET sales conversations resume between Paramount Global and potential buyer group, including the company’s current CEO Scott Mills.

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Black Entertainment Television (BET) ownership is still up for grabs as Paramount revisits its sale.

At this time, Paramount Global has reentered BET sale discussions with a group of buyers that includes current BET CEO Scott Mills and Manhattan-based private equity CC Capital, led by Chinh Chu, who are reportedly offering roughly $1.7 billion to purchase the company. This price is significantly lower than the $3 billion they were looking to land during an auction last year.

The investment group, led by Mills, was prepared to pay a similar amount for BET last December. However, things did not pan out as expected. Now, they’re back in their quest to own the BET Group, which features a portfolio of brands, including BET, its streaming platform BET+, BET Gospel, BET HER, BET International, BET Jams, BET Soul, BET Studios, and VH1. Current sales discussions are being led by the controlling shareholder of Paramount’s parent company, Shari Redstone.

In June, Redstone, who owns a controlling stake in Paramount through her family-holding company, National Amusements, shot down sale discussions with Skydance after she felt possible shareholder lawsuits would follow. Another factor in her killing the deal was what she considered to be a lowball offer. Now, Mills and Chu are back at it for a second time, hoping to become the new owners of BET.

Mills’ commitment to BET has spanned decades. He first joined the network as its senior VP of business development and climbed the ladder over the years, holding various senior title roles before ultimately becoming the CEO in January 2018. His predecessor, Debra Lee, was the CEO of BET for 13 years. Only three people have held the role, with co-founder Robert Johnson serving as the BET CEO before Lee.

BET+ investor and longtime collaborator Tyler Perry previously expressed interest in acquiring the company but voiced concerns about its previous $3 billion asking price. The filmmaker, who is responsible for shows on the network like Sistas and The Oval, called the requested price tag “disrespectful” because it was “not worth anywhere near the value” that the company was worth.

Among Perry, other interested parties at the time included media mogul Byron Allen and Sean “Diddy” Combs.

Founded in the basement of former co-founder Robert Johnson, BET has been around since 1980 and continues to be the leading Black entertainment television network for Black Americans. In the early 1990s, it became the first Black-controlled TV company to be included on the New York Stock Exchange. 

Despite selling the network alongside fellow founder and then-wife Sheila Johnson to Viacom in 2000, Johnson remained in his position as CEO until 2006. The sale of the network made the Johnsons America’s first Black billionaires.

The BET sales discussions follow the company’s 23rd annual BET Awards show, hosted by Taraji P. Henson. The show featured performances that included a tribute to Usher, who received the Lifetime Achievement Award.

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