Tyler Perry is “beyond interested” in acquiring the BET network.
It was revealed in March that the filmmaker, who is already a minority stakeholder in the BET Media Group, is in talks to purchase a majority stake from its owner Paramount.
In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Perry confirmed he was very interested in acquiring the network.
“I’ve been there for four years now and had tremendous success. I wasn’t expecting this to happen, so, yes – if that is possible, I’m very, very interested in taking as much of it as I can,” he said. “We can very much say that there are conversations. I am beyond interested.”
However, Perry noted that media mogul Byron Allen and rapper Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs are also interested in buying BET, which stands for Black Entertainment Television, and insisted he is “excited” that the network will be owned by a Black person in the future.
“I’ve read about Byron Allen and Puffy and everybody wanting to bid and so on and so forth, and I think it’s really great,” he shared. “This is what I love about it – when Bob Johnson sold it in 2000, I think it was, there wasn’t one Black person who could buy it. So now, to see all of these Black people, men and women, who are able to be in a position to buy it? Man, that makes me feel really, really excited… I think there was sadness when Bob sold it, and I think there’ll be happiness when it’s Black-owned again.”
The 53-year-old signed a deal to produce original films and TV shows for BET and other Viacom networks in 2017. He also helped launch BET+ in 2019.
