Bye-Bye BET?
 

Hi Everyone,

Just wondering what y'all think of this. I just heard that Viacom, a non-Black owned media company (which owns MTV, VH-1, etc.) is going to buy BET. Supposedly, the founder of BET will now be a "major" shareholder of Viacom. But what do you think this will mean for BET? Will the type/quality of shows on BET change for the better or worst with this new ownership?

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We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle

With the caliber of programming now, it can only get better...perhaps an infusion of cash will cause more intelligent orginal programming to appear...

And to answer the question posed in the topic header, no, I don't think BET is going anywhere, not after its new owners just paid $3 billion for it...

Right now there is not much to miss. Soror DG, I agree the programming can only GET BETTER!! I hope!!

I think Mr. Johnson is making a very big mistake. I forsee BET becoming another UPN, where The White executives are telling us Blacks how to be BLACK!!!!! I must admit the money is enticing for any owner that owns majority of a public company. But because it is a public company he might as well clean out his office because he will certainly be moved for what THEY (the new board of directors) call "Creative Differences".

OHHLALA

And BET doesn't already make a mockery of our culture, with all the buck dancing, booty-shaking video shows, warmed-over talk shows, stereotypical loud-#@$ed comics telling the same "black people cain't never afford to have a timely funeral"-type jokes and the like? And don't get me started with that CITA mess!

Unfortunately, many of US are the ones who have some say in the images of our people shown to the world via television and film. We can't always blame someone else for the buffoonery and JIVE that blacks show on TV...a lot of it is our own fault.

Discogoddess, I couldn't have said it any better. What's up with your soror and "Oh Drama". She's the only one up there with a lot to lose career wise. Please call your soror and tell her she made a big mistake.

I have several white friends, so we're always having discussions on race relations in this country. And through talking to them, I found that a lot of the way we are perceived as a people is strictly by the way some of us act. And I said some of us. But with our race, if some of us do it, we all are guilty. That's just the way society looks at us. BET as a major network for all black programming, should be trying to erase those stereotypes not validate them.


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XI LAMBDA

I agree with you Discogoddess (to some point). However, we ARE the ones, we pay our $$$ and tune in to such programming. The shows are not all positive, but they are a reflection of our people, it may not be you nor I, BUT it does represent a % of us (sad to say). And ComicView is one of the networks most popular show. This is obvious with all the $$$$ they put in to the show. Yes, we do have a say in our image, but the point I was trying to make it that if the image NOW does nt reflect a more unbiased and sterotyped image, then when VIACOM owns BET, we can definitely forget it! So, we need to not ony check them on that aspect, but we need to check ourselves!

OOH LA LA!

Oohlala, it's funny that you said that you see BET being another UPN for this reason:

For the uninformed, UPN stands for United Paramount Network.

Paramount Television/Pictures is a subsidiary of Viacom, which at one time had a HUGE ownership in the syndication arena (and I think to this day still does). Look at how many syndicated shows that after the credits had that big @$$ black V (Viacom logo) coming towards the screen with the drum roll and/or the huge silver V. That mess gave me nightmares as a kid, but I digress.

If Viacom owns Paramount and UPN is the Paramount network, then if BET is owned by Viacom/Paramount and the same buffoonish Black shows air primarily on UPN, then Oohlala, your prediction may warrant some merit, though I am not lookin' forward to it.
We can only keep our fingers crossed at this point.

By Oohlala (read: George), I think you got it.

Da Rain Man

Why don't they just replace Cita with Cyber Lucy (voice of Tanika Ray) from Wheel of Fortune 2000? Since Cyber Lucy is outta work (the show was cancelled two years ago), she IMHO would be a MUCH better replacement (though more cornier). http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/biggrin.gif

Da Rain Man

Rainman, you see my point. I was aware that UPN is a subsidary of Viacom, thus proving my point to somewhat of a degree of certainity. I am just saying that BET was basically the first, a trendsetter in Black based entertainment that most of us could identify with and I hate to see it begin to lose its momentum (sp?) after all these years. I hate to stay it, but, if Johnson sells, he is going to be selling more than his shares. I give BET 5-10 years before the name changes to something that includes more than blacks or the entire network will completely disappear. This is because we will definitely no longer be able to identify or it will be to ridiculous (sp?) to watch!

Discogoddess, I guess we better start with that new show that reflects the positive side of Blacks. BUT, who will put up the money, will the idea sell? And if so, then how long will it last? I don't think very long, for some strange reason, we do not support the positive enough to last, but run, even break our backs, necks, and will spend our last dollars to see the negative!

OOH LA LA!

i think BET sucks. i'm all for a little comedy. but its mainly foolish shows showing blacks in a stereotypical role, its not helping us to portray positive images, however televsion is a business and if people are willing to watch these programs then they BET/Viacom will continue to produce them. What we need is a network owned by say Bill Cosby etc. that would show a variety of shows with us covering the whole spectrum not just the ghetto mentality we see on BET all the time.

You didn't know that White people already own the majority of BET? The quality of programming should be a clue. I'm kinda ashamed of BET. The only show I like is Tavis Smiley.



[This message has been edited by Talaxe (edited November 06, 2000).]

Boy oh Boy,
Bye Bye Bet. I must admit the qualities of the network can be summed up in one word: poor. I mean videos are nice but even MTV and VH1 realized the importance of developing television shows without videos i.e. The Real World and Behind The Music. Bet does not represent the greater community of black americans though it does represent a small population. Are there that many people who watch videos? Also how does BET support non-mainstream black artists. I would love to see a show about the art work of Gordon Parks or poetry of Gwendolyn Brooks and young artists. Instead of the network building the cultural awareness of the black community, it allows us including young children to watch booty shake videos and learn the words to songs that can not refrain from using the words "bitch" "ho" or "ma" to describe a WOMAN.

Oh Drama is oh so terrible. The jokes aren't funny and one person can not carry a show. I too loathe Cita and her booty swinging loud mouthing ways. I turn the channel when I see her and that big mouth of hers.

I really dont think that white executives can portray black people any worse than the black executives at BET have. And white executives would not be able to proceed with shows like Moesha, The Parkers and Girlfriends without two things: black actors and actresses and a black population that enjoys watching stereotypical portrayals of "us".

Will I miss BET and it's programming? Not really. Not unless it becomes representative of a population of blacks that desire to see the greater benefit of its race. What's wrong with putting a few less shows with videos and a couple more highlighting the achievements of black americans. Did anyone hear about the black jockey riding in the Breeders Cup, the first in over 75 years if not more. I'd like to see a show about those types of things. Until then, I'll just watch some Judge Joe Brown.

Bobby Johnson can go. BET can go.
But SAVE TAVIS

Robert Johnson had a 63 percent stake in BET, so I don't see how that translates to majority-white ownership, as stated in a previous post. I'm not sure of his stake in the post-Viacom acquisition.

I think the death-knell is being sounded too soon. BET, as long as it makes money for its owners, will be around, showing the same old tired mess that US FOLKS seem to love and support so much.