Tyler Perry sold his stake in BET+ as Paramount Skydance acquired the platform in June and merged it into Paramount+.
Tyler Perry just sold his ownership stake in BET+, with Paramount Skydance buying out his stake in the streaming platform.
The deal means BET+ will be integrated directly into Paramount+ starting in June, bringing more than 1,000 hours of content.
Here’s what’s changing: All the Queen’s Men, Zatima, The Ms. Pat Show and Diarra From Detroit are all headed to Paramount+. Perry’s show isn’t going anywhere, though.
He remains connected to BET through new content partnerships, so he will continue to produce programming for the network. It’s essentially a shakeup that allows Paramount to expand its streaming game without losing Perry’s catalog.
CEO David Ellison wants to boost Paramount+ sales, and acquiring all BET+ content does just that. From a business perspective, the merger makes sense. Why run two separate streaming services when you can combine them and cut costs?
According to The Hollywood Reporter , the acquisition gives Paramount full control of the platform Perry helped build. Perry has been a major player in black entertainment for years, and the move shows how the streaming wars are forcing consolidation across the industry.
Paramount believes merging the platforms will help it better compete with Netflix, Disney+ and other giants.
Perry didn’t leave empty-handed, though. His content partnerships keep him involved, and his shows will reach more viewers on Paramount+ than on standalone BET+.
The real question now is whether Paramount+ subscribers will actually watch the BET+ content, or if it just becomes another part of what they scroll past.
