BET UK

COUNTRY: U.K. (also present in the U.S., Canada, Caribbean, sub-Saharan Africa)

LAUNCH DATE: February 2008 (U.S. launch in 1980; African launch in December 2008)

OWNERSHIP: Viacom Inc.

DISTRIBUTION: A total of 98 million subscribers (88 million subscribers in the U.S.; 10 million subscribers internationally)

DESCRIPTION: Provides programming centered on music, entertainment, celebrity, news and fashion for consumers of black culture.

SENIOR MANAGEMENT:
Chairman & CEO, BET Networks: Debra Lee
President & COO, BET Networks: Scott Mills
Senior VP & General Manager, BET International: Michael Armstrong
VP, Programming & Production, BET International: Ava Hall

PROGRAMMING STRATEGY: Dedicated to a broad 16-plus audience, BET in the U.K. mixes content from the American BET channel with a host of local productions. It stands apart from other entertainment channels in Britain by focusing strongly on urban and black sensibilities.

"Our true niche is that we provide content for consumers of black culture," says Ava Hall, the VP of programming and production for BET International. "Within that, we offer quite a wide spectrum of content—a lot of variety, probably more than most multichannels. We offer music, reality, movies, specials, documentaries, even travel and cooking. What we offer really provides an authentic experience for those who love black culture."

Hall goes on to explain that the channel is keen on making its prime time "really meaty. We’ve selected Mondays as a strong night for reality shows, as well as Fridays. We have some gospel on Sundays, as well as a movie in the evening. Those are the key places that we focus on."

What’s acquired specifically for BET’s international channels is about 4 percent, and about 4 percent is original. The bulk of the programming, about 75 percent, is pulled from the U.S. channel, and about 17 percent from BETJ, a spin-off cable television channel previously known as BET Jazz. 

"We just completed a big deal with Image Entertainment, but there’s no one buyer that we typically buy from," says Michael Armstrong, the senior VP and general manager of BET International. "What we do is evaluate content as it comes our way. And if it fits the profile of the channel and it fits out price profile for acquisitions, we look to add it to our schedule. There’s no one particular pipeline of content coming our way."

Originals from the U.S. like Harlem Heights, Keyshia Cole and College Hill have done well for the channel. The BET Awards and Celebration of Gospel have also been strong performers.

WHAT’S NEW: On July 4, BET UK aired the flagship BET Awards ’09. Over the entire three and a half hour award show, which paid tribute to Michael Jackson, BET had the highest share of black adults (16+) of all networks on satellite in the U.K. While the 2008 show averaged 5 percent of all black adult viewership on satellite, the 2009 show had over 15 percent for BET and BET +1. This means a larger share of black viewers were watching the 2009 BET Awards on satellite than were watching Channel 4, Five, and Sky1 on satellite combined. BET had more black adult satellite viewers in the U.K. than BBC One.

On the heels of that ratings success, the channel will be launching a couple of new series: Tiny & Toya and Dreamland.

BET is also looking to be in every market in Africa, and expand its presence in other territories. "We also want to continue to expand throughout Europe, in some of the big markets like Germany, the Netherlands, France, Italy, Spain," says Armstrong. "Then re-engage in Asia, because we think we can be successful there. We had some branded blocks that we worked with MTV on in Japan in 2007 to 2008. So we want to re-engage in Asia, specifically Japan, Korea and eventually China."

WEBSITE: www.bet.com