New Paramount chairman and CEO David Ellison says the company has no plans to shop BET to third-party buyers.
“What I would say is, like we had in the conversation with Shari [Redstone] when we had the first meeting actually about the company, is our intention is to keep the company together and invest through the lens of long term operation,” the executive told journalists during a press conference on Wednesday in Los Angeles.
The remarks come after Paramount previously backed off talks to sell its majority stake in BET in 2023. At the time, the company had received interest from Tyler Perry, Allen Media Group founder Byron Allen and Miami-based media company Group Black. Perry publicly criticized the previous bidding process, calling it “disrespectful” at an event hosted by Bloomberg in October of that year.
Speculation about a sale was renewed in July 2024, when Bloomberg reported that a group that included BET CEO Scott Mills and Chinh Chu, founder and senior managing director of the New York-based private equity firm CC Capital were in talks to acquire BET.
BET was first launched in 1980 by founder Robert Johnson as a channel specifically aimed at Black audiences. Paramount would then acquire it for $2.3 billion in 2000. BET Media Group includes the BET, BET Gospel, BET HER, BET International, BET Jams and BET Soul channels, BET Studios, streaming service BET+ and VH1.
Ellison’s comments on BET echo New Paramount president Jeff Shell, who told TheWrap at a media briefing last week that a spinoff of its cable network portfolio doesn’t make sense for the company.
Chief strategy and operating officer Andy Gordon told reporters at the New York event that there’s “probably a place” for brands like MTV and Comedy Central to exist outside of the linear world where they can be “invested in and flourish.”
However, Shell said potential sales of assets in its real estate portfolio remain “on the table,” such as National Amusements’ portfolio of movie theaters. However, the legendary Hollywood lot in Los Angeles and CBS Broadcast Center in New York City are expected to be safe.
Shares of Paramount finished Wednesday’s trading session up more than 36%, closing at $15 apiece.
