Tyler Perry Finalizes Deal To Buy BET Media Group (Including VH1) For Undisclosed Sum
Tyler Perry (Madea, Gone Girl), founder and CEO of Tyler Perry Studios, will take control of BET, according to reports. The deal comes as a relief to Paramount Global, who I have learned is “hemorrhaging money”, according to a source, to the tune of more than $400 million. For reference, Perry’s net worth was recently stated by Forbes as $1 billion.
This new deal, valued at an undisclosed amount, will give Perry, a veteran champion of content aimed at the African American demographic, control over BET Media Group, which also owns VH1.
BET+, the streaming service for the cable channel, is a joint venture between Paramount Streaming and Tyler Perry Studios. Launched in 2019, the service established a 4 year relationship between Paramount and Perry.
CEO of Paramount Global, Bob Bakish, previously explored a sale of a majority stake in the company. CNBC reported that insiders at Paramount believed selling to a group of wealthy black investors could “unlock opportunities and value”.
We have also had confirmation that speculation of a buyout came about once a number of projects for BET suddenly had funding pulled as soon as last week, including some in Atlanta. Speaking to Yahoo Finance in 2021, CEO of BET Media Group Scott Mills said that, “BET generated nearly 100% revenue growth in 2021 from BET+, and 50% subscriber growth over the same period,”. However, after aiming to spend a reported $17 billion in content production over 2022, and with ongoing issues such as the WGA strike, a niche service with simply “more than 3 million” subscribers after 4 years of launch simply couldn’t cut it.
It is not yet known whether BET+ will continue on, now operating under Perry’s sole purview, but the service has plans to continue into the era of ad-tiers. Announced in May 2023 for a June 25th launch, the ad-tier to combat BET+’s (now reasonable) ad-free price of $9.99/month will come in at $5.99/month.
If this is true, we expect an announcement any day now — maybe even at this year’s BET Awards.
