BET

=== Sale to Viacom ===
In 2001, the network was bought by media conglomerate [[Viacom (original)|Viacom]] (later to become part of [[Paramount Global]]) for $3&nbsp;billion. In 2005, Johnson retired from the network, turning over his titles of president and chief executive officer to former BET vice president [[Debra L. Lee]].

In 2002, the network had launched two more music-oriented networks, [[BET Hip-Hop]] and [[BET Gospel]]. BET also launched a series of original programming by this time, including reality shows ''[[Baldwin Hills (TV series)|Baldwin Hills]]'' and ''[[Hell Date]]'', competition show ''[[Sunday Best (American TV series)|Sunday Best]]'', and town hall-style discussion show ''Hip Hop vs. America''.<ref name="confidence">{{cite news|last=Deggans|first=Eric|title=BET diversifies with confidence|url=http://www.sptimes.com/2007/07/24/Tv/BET_diversifies_with_.shtml|access-date=December 30, 2010|newspaper=St. Petersburg Times|date=July 24, 2007}}</ref> BET's president of entertainment [[Reginald Hudlin]] resigned from the network on September 11, 2008. He was then replaced by Stephen Hill, who is also executive vice president of music programming and talent.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Wiltz|first1=Teresa|last2=Farhi|first2=Paul|title=BET President Resigns|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/11/AR2008091103380.html|newspaper=The Washington Post|page=C7|date=2008-09-12|access-date=2008-09-12}}</ref> BET announced in March 2010 that Ed Gordon would return to the network to host "a variety of news programs and specials".<ref>{{cite web|last=Bland|first=Bridget|title=Ed Gordon: Returning to BET News|url=http://www.bvnewswire.com/2010/03/08/ed-gordon-returning-to-bet-news/|work=Black Voices|publisher=AOL|access-date=July 2, 2010|date=March 8, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101217170740/http://www.bvnewswire.com/2010/03/08/ed-gordon-returning-to-bet-news|archive-date=December 17, 2010|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

In March 2017, president of programming Stephen Hill and executive vice president of original programming Zola Mashariki both stepped down. Connie Orlando, senior vice president of Specials, Music Programming, and News was named the interim president of programming.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://deadline.com/2017/03/bet-programming-shakeup-stephen-hill-zola-mashariki-leaving-1202055014/|title=BET Programming Shakeup: President Stephen Hill & EVP Zola Mashariki Exit|last=Hipes|first=Patrick|date=2017-03-29|work=Deadline|access-date=2017-07-27|language=en-US}}</ref>

In July 2017, Viacom signed new film and television development deals with [[Tyler Perry]] following the expiration of his existing pact with [[Discovery Inc.]] in 2019. As part of this deal, Perry would produce ''[[The Oval (TV series)|The Oval]]'' and ''[[Sistas (TV series)|Sistas]]'' for BET and co-own the network's newly launched streaming service, [[BET+]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://deadline.com/2017/07/tyler-perry-viacom-film-tv-deal-with-viacom-1202128622/|title=Tyler Perry Inks Mega Film & Television Deal With Viacom|last=Andreeva|first=Nellie|date=2017-07-14|work=Deadline|access-date=2018-11-20|language=en-US}}</ref>