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BET Forms First Board of Advisors to Guide Its Next Chapter

The panel will advise president Louis Carr on preserving BET’s cultural role as the network shifts from cable to a multiplatform strategy under Paramount Skydance ownership.

Overview

  • The board, announced Tuesday, June 2, names six inaugural members: founder Bob Johnson, Queen Latifah, LL COOL J, NFL executive Troy Vincent, Lazard’s Raymond J. McGuire, and Paramount Skydance TV chair George Cheeks.
  • BET says the advisers will act as a strategic and cultural sounding board to offer perspective, accountability, and guidance as the brand expands beyond traditional cable.
  • Louis Carr established the advisory body to help balance commercial growth with BET’s responsibility to serve and reflect Black audiences as the company evolves.
  • The move follows recent corporate moves by Paramount Skydance, which bought Tyler Perry’s stake in BET+ and will fold BET+ content into Paramount+ next month.
  • BET is positioning itself as a multiplatform business that includes FAST channels, studios, live events, digital content and experiments like microdramas, and the board could shape how that content is produced and distributed.