Black Entertainment Television
Black Entertainment Television (BET) is an American cable television network. It is based in New York City. The network is targeted toward African-American audiences in the United States. Most of it used to show hip hop and R&B music videos. Now it shows religious shows, movies, award shows and original television series for African-Americans.
Black Entertainment Television (BET) | |
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![]() Where black culture lives | |
Type | Cable network |
Country | United States |
Broadcast area | United States and parts of Canada |
Headquarters | New York City, New York[1] |
Programming | |
Picture format | 440px-BET_Logo.svg.png |
Ownership | |
Owner | Paramount Global |
Key people | Robert L. Johnson - Founder and former Chairman Debra Lee CEO/Chairman of BET Reginald Hudlin Programming President |
Sister channels | List
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History | |
Launched | January 25, 1980 |
Founder | Robert L. Johnson Sheila Johnson |
Links | |
Website | BET.COM |
Availability | |
History
BET was founded by Robert L. Johnson on January 25, 1980. The network started out as a two-hour Friday night show on the USA Network each week. It was on from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. (EST). They mostly showed older movies and music videos. In May of that year, BET started showing Black collegiate sporting events. In November 1980, BET added two half-hour shows, Black Showcase and The Bobby Jones Gospel Show. On June 26, 1983, BET started showing Video Soul, a music video series. On October 1 of the same year, BET started broadcasting 24 hours daily with help from Home Box Office. In the later years, BET has moved from having a variety of Black entertainment to mostly showing music videos around the clock.
Television
References
- Hipes, Patrick (May 10, 2017). "BET Networks Shutting Down DC Headquarters, Moving To NYC". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 25, 2021.