Paramount Global is in initial exploratory talks to sell a majority stake in BET Media.
The company has been pretty clear about its desire to explore cash-raising opportunities, including an attempt to sell publisher Simon & Shuster.
The Wall Street Journal first reported on the move with BET Media. The company declined to comment.
The division includes the linear BET networks, BET+ (a 2019 venture with Tyler Perry), BET Studios, which formed in 2021 with partners Kenya Barris, Rashida Jones and Aaron Rashon Thomas, and VHI, which moved under the BET umbrella last year.
A person familiar with the situation said Paramount will retain a minority stake and commercial agreements with BET for content on its platforms.
Given BET’s iconic status within Black culture and the Black creative community, it could potentially attract interest from wealthy Black individuals or minority-owned institutions.
Founded in 1980 by Robert Johnson, BET, or Black Entertainment Television, was the first cable channel to cater to a black audience. It was acquired by Viacom in 2001 for $3 billion.
Paramount’s $2.2 billion deal to sell book publisher Simon & Schuster to Penguin Random House fell through over regulatory concerns, but it has made it clear that it is a non-core asset and remains in the market . In recent years, it sold CBS NYC headquarters, known as Black Rock, and website CNet. It turned down offers for Showtime and announced other plans for that asset, namely to merge with Paramount+ in streaming and linear television.
As its parent company transitions to streaming, it’s spending heavily on content like most major media companies and expects peak losses in that business this year.
The conversations surrounding BET come as M&A chatter heats up across various media and entertainment sectors. Lachlan Murdoch recently said that Fox Corp. will actively pursue it, WME is attempting to sell itself, Hulu may be up for grabs, and Cineworld is marketing its global cinema assets to emerge from bankruptcy, to name a few.