BET

Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by Paramount Global through CBS Entertainment Group. As of February 2015, approximately 88,255,000 American households (75.8% of households with television) receive the channel. History After stepping down as a lobbyist for the cable industry, Freeport, Illinois native Robert L. Johnson decided to launch his own cable television network. Johnson would soon acquire a loan for $15,000 ($55,648 in 2023) and a $500,000 ($1,854,921 in 2023) investment from media executive John Malone to start the network. The network, which was named Black Entertainment Television (BET), launched on January 25, 1980. Cheryl D. Miller designed the logo that would represent the network, which featured a star to symbolize "Black Star Power".