Who owns bet viacom

Lee also launched Leading Women Defined, an annual conference where notable African American women, including Former First Lady Michelle Obama, Venus Williams, Issa Rae and Erykah Badu, gathered each year for insightful debates and conversations on issues that impact their community and families. Per BET, following her departure from the company, Lee, a well-respected industry executive, plans to stay involved in the media industry and continue her role on corporate and non-profit boards.

As a young corporate attorney I saw my role as the protector of the BET brand and its employees and today, more than 32 years later, I still see myself as the protector and defender of a brand that I have helped to grow as a top destination for audiences across the globe. I have called BET Networks home for over three decades and this team is part of my extended family. My belief that we can do well and do good has been a guiding principle and one that I hope you will continue after my departure.

Together, we have built a world-class brand that connects with fans through the power of storytelling and we have attracted and nurtured top talent across the globe. We offer disability, life insurance, and business travel insurance coverage options that provide financial protection against the unexpected.

We want to make getting and staying healthy easier for you and your family by offering resources for tracking your health, managing stress, staying active and more. Jobs Internships About Us Viacom bet. Employee Benefits BET Networks is a place where your creativity, dedication, and efforts are appreciated and rewarded and where you are an important part of our success.

Viacom said it will provide the resources BET needs to continuegrowing while keeping top managers running the business who knowhow to reach the black audience.

In exchange, it expects to benefitfrom owning a business widely recognized by a group that is growingfaster in numbers and income than the general population.

Redstone, chairman and chief executive of Viacom, told analystsin a conference call. BET, based in Washington, D. The company ranked sixth in the latest rankings by BlackEnterprise magazine of the largest black-owned industrial andservice companies in the U. Robert L. Johnson, who has ambitions of starting a regional airline fromWashington D.

If the deal closed today, BET shareholders would receive about 40 million Viacom shares, or 2. Johnson will continue his quest to own an airline in Washington, D.

Viacom executives and Johnson started talking about a deal over the summer, but talks began to heat up in late September after the Walter Kaitz Foundation dinner, at which Johnson was master of ceremonies. Karmazin called BET's programming, targeted to the fast-growing African-American viewer base, a "strategically perfect fit" for the entertainment conglomerate. Although BET is a well-penetrated service, Karmazin said, there's no reason why it shouldn't be in all cable homes, given the quality of its programming and brand awareness among African Americans.

African Americans represent 13 percent of the population, but only 1 percent of ad spending is aimed at the African-American market, leaving tremendous advertising opportunities. The deal creates the potential for numerous programming and marketing synergies with BET and Viacom's cable, radio and broadcast-network properties, although neither side would provide any specific plans.

For BET, the deal provides tremendous upside for a network that has often come under fire for relying too much on music-video programming and not developing quality original programming. Lee would not speculate on what programming changes might come, adding that no decisions would be made until after the deal closes. African-Americans watch 70 hours of television per week percent more than other ethnic groups-according to a TN Media Inc.

Also, African Americans watch 9 percent more primetime television and 75 percent more late-night television than their counterparts. In return, BET could move some of its African-American-oriented programming into Viacom's media assets, including radio-station holding company Infinity Broadcasting Corp.