BET Jumps Into Streaming TV

Published On June 13, 2019 | By Tom Huskerson | News and Analysis

Black Entertainment Television is moving from the mobile streaming service to a full on streaming service provider. BET is reportedly launching BET+ a stand alone streaming service.

Variety.com is reporting the service will launch later this year and will be the new home for Tracy Oliver’s planned “First Wives Club.”

President of BET Networks Scott Mills said of Oliver, “We are thrilled that Tracy Oliver and Paramount Television’s ‘First Wives Club’ will be coming to BET Network. We have been big fans of Tracy, the project and its incredible cast all along. The concept she has for the series fits perfectly with our programming strategy of character-driven content anchored in the Black experience, and it aligns seamlessly with our core audience. “

BET+ will also offer original content from Tyler Perry and other channels owned by parent company Viacom.  No details on the pricing of the service has been announced.

Breaking It Down

This is really a long over due move by BET. Streaming television is here to stay. Black actors, writers and producers are still on the outskirts of main stream entertainment. Yes, Amazon and Netflix are offering a lot of afrocentric content from black people. And let me take this opportuity to say thank you! But with the birth of streaming television comes the era of highly specific entertainment. In other words, you can choose like never before what you want to see. So why not BET? Black people have been bombarded by the images of white life since televsion was created. We need our own channel. We need our own truth, We need our history told as we live it. We need our lives reflected by us. We need black television, radio, movies and we need BET+.

But before I leave you let me get radical. Why is BET owned by Viacom? My point is this; black people will always be “lesser than’ if we allow our voices to be the profit center for white owned corporations. We call it Black Entertainment Television but it is a tool for white wealthy stock holders. Because they own it. And you better believe if they own it they control it. And the result has to be a filter on black thought. I am not attacking BET. I am thinking from the roots of black empowerment.

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About The Author

Tom Huskerson Bio Born in Richmond Virginia Tom Huskerson is a military veteran who settled in California after his discharge. Tom attended Santa Barbara City College where he began his writing career as a campus reporter. He worked as an intern news reporter for the Santa Barbara News-Press writing feature stories before moving on to San Francisco. At San Francisco State University Tom studied broadcast communications and began to focus on the Internet. He completed his graduate thesis on Internet advertising. Tom was the first student to ever focus on the Internet as a graduate student at San Francisco State University. After graduation he went to work for Zona Research in California’s Silicone Valley. As a research associate Tom supported senior analyst writing on the latest developments in the Internet industry. During the dot com boom Tom worked for several web businesses as a market researcher and analyst. As a writer and researcher Tom has authored various technical works including a training program for Charles Schwab security. Other projects included professional presentations on workplace violence and hiring security contractors. Tom has also written both fiction and non-fiction works and blogging for a travel website. He has published two books of short stories and completed two novels. Tom is the owner of Scribe of Life Literature and EbonyCandle.com. Tom is not the chief editor for the OnTechStreet. com. A news and information blog that focuses on tech news for African-Americans. The blog is the result of his desire to inform the African American community of the dangers and benefits of the cyber age. In his blog Tom reports on information security, new and analysis, scams and hoaxes, legal happenings and various topics that arise from the age of information. Tom believes that technology is a necessary tool for black people and they should know what is happening. Tom writes believing that techno speak is for the professional and that valuable information can be communicated using plain language. As a result he has embraced the motto, Less Tech, More Knowledge.

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