To commemorate its first anniversary as part of Viacom, executives from Black Entertainment Television hit Manhattan last week to announce all is well with the 22-year-old urban media powerhouse that Bob Johnson built ? and sold last year for a whopping $3 billion.
Since the acquisition, BET's ratings are up, and ad revenues for the 2001-2002 season increased between 17% to 18% over the 2000-2001 season, according to EVP-marketing and communications Kelli Lawson.
At a press conference, BET executives pointed to synergies with Viacom. Curtis Gadson, EVP-entertainment programming and network operations, acknowledged that BET has been talking to sister Viacom networks about ways to share programming and resources.
Those conversations, he said, include repurposing Showtime's hit series, Soul Food, on BET prime-time; more specials in conjunction with CBS Sports; and discussions with Nickelodeon about coproducing an African-American children's block.
BET and Showtime jointly acquired the independent movie Lift, which airs on Showtime in June with the film's basic cable premiere to follow on BET at a yet-to-be-determined date.
Gadson added that he has been approached by Showtime executives about Viacom's proposed gay digital service given BET's ongoing advocacy campaign, Rap-It-Up, to foster HIV and AIDS awareness in the community.
BET's news division has already tapped into the production resources of sister CBS News ? although it is solely responsible for its editorial content, stressed BET news chief Will Wright. Earlier this year BET closed its studio in Harlem, the former home of popular music request show 106 & Park, to share space at Viacom's CBS Broadcast Center in New York.
But not all Viacom hits would work for BET viewers, Gadson was quick to add.
Don't look for BET to emulate sister network MTV's breakout reality success, The Osbournes. ?We don't feel it's right for our audience,? Gadson said, even though musicians including P. Diddy have expressed interest in allowing cameras into their lives.
The current nostalgia that has spurred sister net TV Land's growth ? and inspired too-many an anniversary special on broadcast networks this past season ? won't crop up on BET's programming lineup any time soon. ?Every time we package classic sitcoms like Good Times, we get complaints ? and if we don't do it, people ask us why not,? Gadson noted.
Instead, BET has greenlit three new half-hours for the fall and is spicing up six returning favorites with local content produced on the road during a four-month Black Star Power road tour.
The tour, which runs from June 7 to 29, beginning in Miami, will feature live tapings of six shows including Comicview, Teen Summit and 106 & Park in eight cities. The road tour will include nightly news segments and is designed to return BET to its roots in the community, said Gadson. He added that he will be keeping his eyes open for new talent, while using local performers when possible.
The new fall shows, which will be officially unveiled at the Television Critics Association meeting in Pasadena next month, will include a reality series called Table 22, featuring the real-life characters and comings and goings in a shopping mall food court. The other two series ? Sheryl and Friends, hosted by comic Sheryl Underwood, and Grilled, a variety show with a to-be-announced host ? will also premiere in September.
Also new for the 2002-03 season will be Prime and Mike, a sports talk show hosted by Deion Sanders and Michael Irvin. Turning Point, which is still in development, will feature celebrities and newsmakers discussing life-changing moments in their lives. BET: Start, a workout/music video show on Monday and Friday mornings, also launched last month.
Gadson declined to discuss whether his original programming budget had grown (or diminished) under Viacom, although he acknowledged that no longer producing BET's original movies, which were based on its Arabesque line of books, has meant more funds for the network's beefed-up news division.
At the local cable system level, Lawson said BET's SVP-affiliate sales and marketing, Lee Chaffin, is putting the finishing touches on a new campaign for its cable affiliates called ?Get It First, Get It Fast.?
Created in partnership with Universal and Def Jam records, the campaign, which launches in mid-July, includes local taggable spots to promote high-speed Internet service and features exclusive videos from Def Jam artists such as Ashanti and Jah Rule, which will be available for download to cable broadband subscribers via BET.com.
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