David Ellison Confirms BET Networks No Longer for Sale During Media Q&A With Paramount Skydance Leaders

BET Networks is no longer being shopped to third-party buyers, the new leadership regime at Paramount Skydance confirmed Wednesday as top executives gathered for a wide-ranging Q&A with journalists.

David Ellison, CEO of the studio that he acquired last week, told reporters that BET and its content franchises would be a key part of the new regime’s streaming strategy. Ellison said the plan is to operate the company with its assets intact — that’s in contrast to the string of assets sales that Paramount Global and its predecessors have done in recent years. BET in particular had been shopped to a number of prospective buyers in private equity and prominent Black investors and stars including Tyler Perry.

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“We had this conversation with Shari when we had the first meeting, actually about the company. It is our intention is to keep the company together and invest in that lens,” Ellison said.

More to come