Aisha Summers-Burke has been promoted to Executive Vice President of BET Creative Programming and BET Studios head.
In her new expanded role, Summers-Burke will oversee all creative content for BET’s linear network. She will also continue to lead BET Studios while overseeing the creative pipeline supplying BET programming to Paramount+.
“This is an important evolution for BET. For the first time, our studio and network creative teams will be aligned under one leader, bringing greater connection across development, production and programming, and creating one cohesive creative vision across every screen where BET content lives,” BET President Louis Carr said in a memo to staff. “I’m excited about what this means for our creative content and, most importantly, for the stories we will continue to tell and the audiences we will continue to serve.”
Summers-Burke has been instrumental in building BET Studios since its launch in 2021, when she joined as executive vice president and head of creative. Under her leadership, the studio has made deals with high-profile creators such as Kenya Barris, Taraji P. Henson, Gabrielle Union, Aaron Rahsaan Thomas, and Jenifer Rice-Genzuk Henry.
Prior to joining BET, Summers-Burke got her start at Warner Bros. Television in development in 2012, working with emerging talent for both the studio and WBTV’s experimental program, Fresh Ink.
She would subsequently join Fox’s Drama Development & Programming team, where she managed multiple development projects per year, covering top dramas such as “Empire,” as well as “Star,” “Scream Queens,” “Lucifer” and “Lethal Weapon.”
Summers-Burke returned to the Warner Bros. Group in 2017, serving as an executive at Warner Horizon Scripted Television, where she was behind projects including OWN’s “Love Is” and “Kings of Napa,” Netflix’s “Medical Police,” Epix’s “Pennyworth,” and HBO Max’s “DMZ” and “The Flight Attendant.”
She also played an integral role at WBTV in landing overall writing and producing deals with Cord Jefferson, Robin Thede, Matthew Cherry, Nkechi Okoro Carroll and others.
Her promotion comes after BET+ was folded into Paramount+ in June.
The service, which is estimated to have close to 3.5 million subscribers, charges $5.99 per month for the BET+ Essential tier and $10.99 per month for its Premium tier.
BET Studios’ notable projects include Diarra From Detroit, which premiered on BET+ in March 2024 and the documentary “The Debutantes,” which was produced alongside NBCU News Studios and Westbrook Studios and premiered at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival. It is also involved in Barris and Kim Kardashian’s Hulu pilot “Group Chat.”
