Byron Allen and Tyler Perry also reportedly expressed interest in the cable channel and streaming network.
The race for BET continues. The Grammy award winning multi-hyphenate Sean “Diddy” Combs has his eyes on the majority stake of BET Media Group, per recent reports.
As theGrio previously reported, Paramount is looking to sell a majority stake in BET in hopes to strengthen their streaming venture, Paramount+. While it was reported last week that Tyler Perry and Allen Media Group (AMG, owner of theGrio) founder and CEO Byron Allen have expressed interest in the stake, more recent reports are circulating that Combs is reportedly throwing his hat in the ring.
Combs is currently “exploring the opportunity to purchase BET as a part of his strategy to build a Black-owned global media powerhouse,” according to a source close to Variety. Another source close to the outlet has said that despite reported interest, “no one” is officially in talks with Paramount yet.
Combs, who has grown from record producer and Grammy Award-winning artist to industry entrepreneur and business mogul, owns Revolt. Launched in 2013, the media company is the self-described “space for the unapologetic, authoritative voice of Hip Hop culture, which includes rap and R&B music, and social justice news.”
Through its long-form and short-form series and programming, the company reached 25 million households upon launch and roughly 80 million households today, according to Variety.
As TheGrio previously reported, Robert Johnson and his former wife Sheila, America’s first Black billionaires, co-founded BET in 1979. In 2001, they sold the company to Viacom (now Paramount) for $3 billion.
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