Following five months of deliberating, Paramount Global will no longer be selling the majority stake for BET Media Group.
Was Paramount Global going to sell BET?
The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that Paramount is ending the bidding process for the unit — made up of the BET channel, BET+, VH1, and BET Studios — rather than selling to any of the previously interested parties.
The outlet notes that in Paramount’s August 7 earnings call, CEO Bob Bakish was asked about selling but responded somewhat vaguely.
“We’re always looking for ways to maximize shareholder value,” Bakish stated. “And as we said before, that might involve divesting, acquiring or potentially partnering on assets, all of which we’ve done. But other than that, I’m not going to comment on anything specifically.”
Rumors had previously swirled involving Tyler Perry taking control of the network, with the director telling Entertainment Online that he was “very, very interested” earlier this year. He had already partnered with the company via his Tyler Perry Studios banner to create BET+ — a streaming service that features both original films and series from the BET program library.
Even beyond Perry, Sean “Diddy” Combs and Byron Allen had also stated they were interested in purchasing in the past, though it seems that is no longer an option at this point in time.
