LOS ANGELES—The BET+ streaming service has announced that it will launch a new lower-priced ad-supported tier called BET+ Essential on June 25 for $5.99 a month. 

BET+ Essential will offer access to the exclusive original programming lineup from BET+ and its expansive library featuring more than 2,000 hours of content from creative forces such as Tyler Perry, Gabrielle Union, Lee Daniels, Mary J. Blige, and Kevin Hart.

The June 25 launch day is the same day at the “BET Awards” 2023 live broadcast.

Essential members will have access to the same features and video quality as current BET+ members; the only difference: limited video ads.

“A primary focus for BET+ has been delivering consumers the content they want, how they want it, and when they want it, so the natural evolution of the service was to provide consumers with a more economical ad-integrated experience,” said Scott Mills, president and CEO, BET Media Group. “We are delighted to expand access to our premium streaming service by introducing this ad-supported tier.”

“This lower priced, ad-supported tier of BET+ will not only deliver to our audiences, but to the advertising community, which has long expressed an appetite for more non-linear options in reaching the highly coveted, digital-native Black consumer market,” added Louis Carr, president of Media Sales, BET Media Group. “As the preeminent Black streaming service, only BET+ Essential can deliver reach, resonance, relevance, and scale. In fact, 80 percent of BET+ members watch from a connected TV, and, with the launch of our ad-supported option, we offer advertisers the perfect addition to linear, reaching even more Black viewers when they are most engaged.”

NEW YORK—At a time when media companies are under increased pressure to diversify on-screen and off-screen talent, ViacomCBS’s BET has launched BET Studios, which the company is calling “an unprecedented studio venture that offers equity ownership for Black content creators.”

BET Studios will draw on the infrastructure and financial resources of BET and ViacomCBS and will create premium television series and films Paramount+, SHOWTIME, CBS, Nickelodeon, BET+, BET and other ViacomCBS divisions. It will also target select third-party outlets that are looking for content from established and rising Black creatives, BET said. 

BET Studios will launch with principal partners Kenya Barris, Rashida Jones and Aaron Rahsaan Thomas.

BET Studios will be headed by Aisha Summers Burke, who was recently appointed executive vice-president and general manager of the new venture. 

“The demand for premium content from Black creators has accelerated dramatically as a result of both the rapidly changing media and social landscapes,” said BET president Scott Mills. “BET, with our 40-year legacy of celebrating Black culture, and the full power of the ViacomCBS ecosystem—is uniquely positioned to service this demand. As a company with its origin in Black entrepreneurship, we are incredibly excited to create the first major studio to provide Black creators with ownership, creative freedom and the unparalleled partnership and support of BET. I am thrilled to have Aisha at the helm of this venture, and I look forward to our collaboration with our amazing creative partners in BET Studios.”

“BET Studios is an exciting and novel extension of the storied BET brand, and we have a structure well-suited to our times to bring top talent into this production company with real ownership,” added David Nevins, chief content officer, scripted originals, Paramount+ & chairman and chief executive officer, Showtime Networks Inc. “Scott Mills deserves tremendous credit for driving this innovative new business from idea to reality – and Kenya, Rashida and Aaron, could not be a more talented or in-demand group to lead this venture along with Aisha Summers.”

In the new role heading BET Studios, Aisha Summers Burke will be responsible for working collaboratively with the Studio’s formidable creative partners and key internal constituencies. Along with overseeing the day-to-day creative affairs for the company, she will also be responsible for the BET Studios content slate and focusing on growing the Studio’s production output across both internal and external platforms. Burke will report to BET President Scott Mills.

Prior to joining BET, Burke spent thirteen years at Warner Bros. Television, most recently serving as vice-president of scripted television for the cable and streaming division of Warner Horizon before it merged with Warner Bros. TV in 2020.

LOS ANGELES—Providing internal communications for high-profile broadcasts and live musical events requires quality intercom solutions. My work takes me to approximately 40-50 events annually, including the “BET Awards” which I have worked on for more than 15 years. Despite overseeing the intercom infrastructure at the show year-after-year, new workflow needs arise each year as the production evolves and adds new segments.

During this year’s broadcast, the music director debuted a new feature “Music Matters,” which required multiple channels of communication between various production personnel. I used Studio Technologies Model 205 Announcer’s Console, which allowed the music director to communicate with the production and technical staff while also facilitating a talkback function to feed the band members in ear monitors for cuing and communications purposes.

The unit was the perfect intercom solution for the task at hand and will now be a consistent workflow solution for the variety of productions we oversee every year. The Model 205 is a compact console that’s simple to deploy due to its easily viewable buttons. It guarantees superb audio quality and provides the flexibility to easily change and alter a setup while maintaining simple ergonomics for nontechnical operators.

Support for Dante Audio-over-Ethernet digital media infrastructures is another significant benefit of the Model 205, as well as Studio Technologies products in general. I recently adopted the company’s Dante product line to allow for easy connectivity and communication between multiple manufacturers. Products from Studio Technologies have made this a seamless transition, and with the Model 205, I can now easily distribute high-quality, low-latency audio during any production.

Productions continue to modernize and expand from year-to-year, requiring more advanced production technology to keep pace with these changes. Studio Technologies has continued to develop and improve its product line with greater quality of audio versus older legacy products provided by other manufacturers.

Additionally, the newest generation of Studio Technology products, such as the Model 205, have a built-in control function with the STController application. During the BET Awards, this allowed us to quickly and easily access the audio DSP (digital signal processing) of the Model 205 and optimize the unit to meet the needs of this specific application. With the unique setup of the “Music Matters” stage, this was essential to customizing the Model 205 to fit the exact needs of the segment during the event.

John Arenas is a partner and owner of TV-Coms, LLC., a communications infrastructure company in Burbank, Calif. He can be contacted atjohna@tv-coms.com.

For more information, please visithttps://studio-tech.com/or call 847-676-9177.

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