BET On Black?: Does BET Get A Fair Shake Nowadays?

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A few weeks ago,  I got into an argument with a friend of mine who happens to work for what I once dubbed “The Evil Empire”. That company is BET. The argument was about the fact that I seemed to lack any sort of positive vibes towards BET. Basically upon mention of those three letters in order caused an impressive array of profanities that would leave a person afflicted with Tourrette’s in awe.

And I cuss real good.

Her point was that I was so prepared to dislike anything associated with BET that I wouldn’t even give the lineup of shows they had a chance. Perhaps – the plea went – if I were to give love a chance, I’d find that the programming was worth my time. Also, given how much I tend to b*tch and moan about Black programming, its possible I was doing a bigger disservice to the community by not only not supporting, but actively UNsupporting. I was like one of Aretha’s bras.

Can’t lie. That hurt a little. The bra parallel, not the lack of support comment. I mean, have you seen one of her boobs? Cleveland is hiding in there.

Moving on. While I could easily shoot down her latter argument using two words – Tyler Perry – I realized that I wasn’t even sure why I hated BET so much…anymore (the former arguments were very strong). Hell, I watch “The Game” even though I think the show has totally devolved into dramatic f*cktasticness. I attempted to watch “Let’s Stay Together” and “Reed Between The Lines”. I actually didn’t mind “Let’s Stay Together” that much, though now that I think about it, I can’t actually remember who was in it or what the show as about. “Reed Between The Lines” attempted to be a modern day Cosby Show, except with a blended family, etc. That show did little more than make me go back and realize how much edge “The Cosby Show” actually had. Cliff and Claire really didn’t take no sh*t.

Well, BET has decided to trot out two new shoes: “Real Househusbands of Hollywood” and “Second Generation Wayans”. So I figure, what the f*ck, I’ll give them a shot. Can’t hurt right and plus it’s 2013 and I’m trying to center my chi and meet this ninja Fung Sway. Or Schway. Somebody told me he stays in Cali. And in the spirit of positivity, let me maintain expectations.

Let me tell you something about expectations, they’re almost impossible to not have. I’ve watched the trailers for RHOH numerous times and you know what, them sh*ts were hilarious. You’ve got Kevin Hart in his prime and a slew of random arse hasbeen actors on a fake reality show, which to me means script. Yeah, there ain’t one on this show obviously. And this first episode left something to be desired. One thing I realized while watching this show was this: comedians need a script. Very few are just funny off the cuff for long periods of time unless they get on a roll.

See: Harvey, Steve. He can go for hours on one thing and get funnier and funnier. But that wouldn’t make for a television show.

“Second Generation Wayans” managed to be funnier than RHOH which, again expectations, surprised me. That didn’t make sense except…it had a script. I’ll tune in.

This was a long ass way of wondering two things: 1) are we giving BET a fair enough shake anymore? Hell, they snagged TJ Holmes for a weekly show that we must have somehow forgot existed because now its on once a week…right?? 2) Is BET doing a better job of bringing the type of programming we claim we want than we give it credit for?

I’m as guilty of making BET the culprit for all that’s wrong with Black America. But here’s something to think about. Melissa Harris-Perry’s show on MSNBC comes on every Saturday and Sunday from 10-noon. I love it. Actually, I just think I love her, but whatever, I’m tuning in. No seriously, I love her. Like looked her up to see if she was married type love her.

As Twitter is the best way to see what’s happening in Black America, it seems that many of the Ninjerati do indeed tune into her show on Saturday or Sunday mornings. On purpose. Which means we gave it a chance and I’m curious why b/c until her show aired, I’d never heard of her.

Would we have tuned in at all if it was on BET? Hell would we tune in NOW if it was on BET? I wonder. Actually, I don’t. The answer is no.

So again, I ask, does the perception of BET completely cloud our ability to even notice if BET is giving Black America some of what we have been clamoring for? Hell, even Nick Cannon in the promo for RHOH was like, “this show is on BET? F*ck that”. A joke and a funny one, but the point wasn’t lost.

Talk to me.

For the record, I do feel like we can get almost all of what we’re looking for on other stations nowadays. But that does beg the age-old question, what exactly are we looking for? Do we even know?

Mmm mmm mmm mmm.

-VSB P aka THE ARSONIST aka MR. WHAT CHANNEL BET ON aka SHERANE GOT A BIG OLE FAT ASS aka GIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRL HE A 3

402 thoughts on “BET On Black?: Does BET Get A Fair Shake Nowadays?”

  1. I don’t do BET, but I was super excited about Real House Husbands of Hollywood. However…..I was slightly under whelmed by the season opening episode. I will continue to watch though b/c I Heart Kevin Hart!! I didn’t really watch 2nd generation Wayans so I’m not sure if I like it yet..we’ll see

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    • Am I the only one that didn’t think the trailer was good or that Kevin Hart is funny? I love the concept of RHOH but the trailer was do boring and the comedy was lame. Needless to say, I didn’t tune in to the show. Well, I don’t have cable so I wasn’t tuning in anyway. Now I felt the opposit for 2nd gen waynes. The concept and name is uninteresting but the trailer looked interesting.

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  2. My DVR rolled its eyes when I set it to record Real Husbands. I liked the promos so I’ll reserve judgement until at least next week.

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  3. I call it the EBT channel. It is slowly revamping its image, but I wonder if the changes being implemented are too late. Folks have been complaining for such a long time,to no avail, until very recently. Do we even care enough about these changes,NOW to support? Hmmmm…Me thinks not, especially when the EBT CEO, Debbie Lee had the audacity to BLAME viewers for the network’s shortcomings. Good luck, EBT.

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    • Me thinks not, especially when the EBT CEO, Debbie Lee had the audacity to BLAME viewers for the network’s shortcomings.
      -
      At the same time, television companies get their money from advertisement, which banks on…wait for it…viewers. If a good percentage of people the advertisers are looking at are watching the cattle droppings that EBT constantly pushes, then EBT really doesn’t make any major changes because it’s what gets them ad money.

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      • It’s a VERY stupid business move to blame the consumer/customer. In business we say, the customer is ALWAYS right, REGARDLESS. You want to shift blame, alright, not a problem. Frame it in a way that does not alienate the very same person/people/demographic you are targeting. Better yet, let the PR department put out statements on your behalf. Either way, in this case, the corporation is to blame, NOT the consumer. EBT is its own enemy when it comes to ad revenues, or a lack thereof.

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        • “the customer is ALWAYS right, REGARDLESS”

          Jeez this concept has been forgotten by so many business and the dumb worker drones that hate their job.

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    • Well, they had to do something. After Viacom bought them out, they lost total direction for most of the 2000′s. One of the things they had going for them was their original programming (Screen Scene, Our Voices, Teen Summit, etc.). And they did away with most of that by the time 2002 came around.

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        • That’s true, but even being the CEO his hands were tied at BET. Even though Viacom provided him with more resources, Johnson wasn’t able to do the things he wanted for the network.
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          He was shot down numerous times by Paramount for wanting to make an all Black film channel- that’s when he went to the Starz network for BET Starz or BET Movies (which later became Starz In Black after Viacom took BET over).

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    • You know, she’s not completely wrong regarding viewers determining what the network shows. They need people to watch and if we ain’t watching any of the porgramming, well, sh*t will tank. Though, its a chicken and egg thing. Are people not watching b/c the shows suck…or do the shows suck b/c people weren’t watching and they had to try to to get them back?

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      • The people are not watching because the programming SUCKS! This is not a chicken and egg argument. Prior to management changing hands/being bought out, the support never lacked, because the quality of programming was there. Now, they want to shift blame on to consumers….INCREDULOUS. Never heard that in my entire life. A whole CORPORATION blaming consumers. Debra Lee & Co., have not been making smart business moves, because if they were…they would shut up and first, LISTEN to what we want. They can miss me with their “woe unto me” bs.

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        • “Prior to management changing hands/being bought out, the support never lacked, because the quality of programming was there. ”

          What BET were you watching?? Paying for syndicated shows to avoid paying actors, directors and writers is not support.

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      • The best business people figure these things out. Making a network successful is the network’s job, not the viewer’s. If you have to resort to viewer shaming to get views, you fail.

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    • She’s partially right.
      .
      It’s not the consumer’s fault, but it is BETs fault for listening to the complaints of the “consumers”. BET has to understand that there are, for the most part two kinds of black people who would watch BET: black people that love Chris Rock and black people that love Kevin Hart. Chris Rock has tenure and thus gets a lot of respect from black people who are into comedy, even from those who don’t like him; on the other hand Kevin Hart is hot, and what is hot is what sells.
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      The older generation (or at least their mentality) still runs BET. I think outside of owning it, Viacom doesn’t interfere too much in their business decisions. If you look at MTV and VH1, those networks have changed drasticaly over the last couple of years from teen-culture networks to reality TV networks and have remained fairly successful (they had to change because youtube changed the game completely.) Due to their desire to maintain the old image of BET that most people on this post are clamoring for, the old crew have met with disaster. The truth is y’all are more likely to watch love and hip-hop than you are going to watch Reed Between the Lines: yet in public, you will complain about why shows like Reed aren’t more prevalent. You know the old crew is still in charge when you see the fact that Apollo Live is on air and Chris Rock’s brother is hosting it.
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      People at BET need to stop listening to what people are complaining about with their mouths, and start observing what people are looking at with their eyes. When they accept that, and they realize that the golden age of Black TV, where a balance betwen intellectual diet and entertainment was maintained, they will be able to find success and triumph in the 21st Century. Until they drop this thing that makes them want to eat their cake and have it too (Have both the CR and KH crowds be happy with them), they’ll continue to fall into obscurity.

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  4. Let me just say this: “All of My Baby Mamas” was cancelled before the premiere. And Chief Queef is going to jail.

    Jesus definitely is Black.

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    • “Jesus definitely is Black” LOL
      And yes I heard the wonderful news about the shawty lo’s fucckery of 2013 being cancelled…

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    • And I’m upset that “All My Baby Mamas” was cancelled. It’s that kind of stupid sh*t that makes me upset. So a show nobody has seen and whose biggest issue thus far is its name gets cancelled, yet we CLAMOR for more Love and Hip-Hop shows which do AS much damage to our youth as a show NOBODY’S EVEN SEEN. GTFOH. I hate people sometimes, I truly do.

      Wheres the petition to VH1. Oh right, it doesn’t exist.

      Now, Chief Keef going to jail would sound great – in theory – if it wasn’t b/c of some f*ckery on the part of Pitchfork doing a story on him and putting a gun in his hand. They decided to do the story at a gunrange and he wasn’t bright enough to remember that holding a gun violates his probation. But why would a publication take a KID to a gun range???

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      • If I remember, there actually was a petition to VH1 about rewarding the bullying and other behavior of the women on Basketball Wives (mainly Evelyn & Tami). Maybe it was a petition against giving Evelyn her own show.

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      • No matter how you spin it, both individuals are dumb as H.E. double hockey sticks and should not be supported.

        I don’t know this Chef Keep (yes wrong on purpose) but was he that excited to get an interview that he forgot his probation rules?

        And a show about a dude with multiple baby mamas? Your argument was that there are shows such as SisterWives so “all my baby mamas” isn’t stereotyping. (yeah I read you post). But that is false logic and the show is a stereotype. It is not a show to highlight a religion or political belief. It is a show green lighted purely for its stereotype and is blatantly reflected by the title.

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      • WHO IS CLAMORING FOR LOVE AND HIP HOP SHOWS?

        Really, Pjango? P is silent.

        I do believe hearing most VSS clamor for more intelligent fare… more ***scripted*** shows that offer up roles to black professional ACTRESSES who are TRAINED like dramas, comedies, and romances ala Scandal, Deception, and whatever show Issa Rae is shopping to Shonda Rhimes.

        0.o <— this is me right now

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      • I should point out that I actually signed the petition. If I’m not mistaken, someone from Radio One actually created it. (It was linked to me by one of their employees, btw).

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    • Why the Chief Keef slander he’s just a young product of America…..we glorify movies like Batman and the avengers, gangster squad and scarface but Chief Keef cant rap about real life in Chicago.,….Ask anybody (Ask me…someone whose been to Chicago several times and has Dozens of fam members there) ppl been getting murdered there since forever, Before there were any rappers from Chicago….

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      • It’s not about what he’s rapping about, its the fact that he’s STILL participating in that lifestyle despite being given the means to get out of it. Both his brother and some kid he had an issue with were gunned down as a (probably more indirect, but still affiliated) result of his constant ish starting on twitter. IJS.

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  5. Let me just say this: “All of My Baby Mamas” was cancelled before the premiere. And Chief Keef is going to jail.

    Jesus definitely is Black.

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    • The simple answer would be “no.” Simply because colleges have been forced to accept minorities into their campuses, and I wouldn’t be surprised if HBCUs were forced to accept other races onto their campuses. Plus, why need BET when we have a host of other channels that have their own minority shows and/or reality shows (which usually have some minorities and/or stereotypes.
      -
      The complicated answer would be “We may need them more than we can imagine.”

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    • HBCU’s are definitely still needed. Especially now that Affirmative Action is under attack, again. Plus. HBCU’s are more than simply Black colleges, some are just as good or better than so-called Ivy League schools.

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      • Quite frankly, affirmative action as it’s currently practiced deserves to be attacked. It wastes resources that could be used to fix the issues that require affirmative action in the first place. Sadly, so many people have their hand out with social services and early childhood education that it’s a miracle that some people get right. *smh*

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      • “Plus. HBCU’s are more than simply Black colleges, some are just as good or better than so-called Ivy League schools.”

        shots?

        you got a name of these “So Called Ivy League Schools”?

        or…you just on your soapbox swagg?

        #letANerdKnow

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        • Honestly, I can’t name any Black universities that are as good or better than Ivy League schools- not even Howard or Morehouse- hell, not even Tuskegee University!

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          • There isn’t one though Howard and Spellhouse are in the top 100 schools. At least they were a few years ago. But no HBCU is on the level of an ivy. H3ll, not many universities are on the level of Ivy’s.

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          • First of all, let’s get real about what is an Ivy League school. The term was originally used as a division in sports. The Ivy League schools are private schools in a specific sports division. It has turned into a term to signify prestige bc those schools are private and consists of students from wealthy backgrounds. The children are breed to get a good education. Many of the students have always been in private schools since kindergarten. The parents have the resources to give their kids the best.

            So I said all of that to say…. Can we stop putting Ivy League schools on a pedestal? It is a fixed system and comparison becomes apple and orange. A public universities’ criteria are lower than harvard’s for a reason.

            Also the majority of people have never attended an Ivy League school. And guess what? They are still successful!

            #RantOver

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        • I can’t really speak on HBCUs, as I’m a STEM guy, and most of the HBCUs have their strengths away from those fields. However, Tuskegee has a better reputation than people think in STEM fields. They aren’t just “good for a HBCU”, but good in general. And their Vet Science programs are the best in the US.

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          • I was confirming that I believe that HBCU’s are necessary because they fill a void for Black youth that is not met by most non-HBCU colleges and universities. But I also do have to agree that in general, they are not on the same level as an Ivy League school – and I am an HBCU grad.

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        • While I wouldn’t go as far as to say any HBCU’s are on the level of any Ivy league schools, its more in name. Certain disciplines would absolutely not be able to compete due to funding like the STEM majors, etc. Though there are HBCUs with highly ranked STEM programs like NC A&T for engineering and Alabama A&M’s physics department. But most Ivy’s are highly regarded due to name recognition. Let’s be real. I’d bet that MIT, Georgia Tech, etc…schools with a tech focus would wipe the floor with most of those Ivies any day.
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          I will say that you can’t completely convince me that the education in humanities received at Ivy League schools trump those of others that significantly, certain HBCU’s included (the ones with money, the Morehouses, Spelmans, Howards, Hamptons, etc). But in general, I would wager that the education received at most Ivy schools does trump the hell out of 98 percent of the HBCUs.

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          • This is about alumni. Ivy league grads tend to be CEO’s or on Broad of Directors. That fact gives new Ivy league grads a leg up in hiring. Alumni will hire their own first.

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            • yeah, but hbcus do that. i really honestly have no idea if thats true but im gonna assume some black elite went to hbcus and will give someone an opening when they need it. isnt that what fraternities are for? networking with other elites and future elites. theres definitely substance there it just needs to be utilized properly, become more efficient in execution.

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      • I went to FAMU. I researched Spelman while considering working there. With that said, I agree with your last statement but only in regard to Hampton U.

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    • HBCUs despite stereotypes are necessary. They are quite affordable schools for many people, they definitely take in the majority and other minorities, as well as have ROTC for people enlisted in the military which greatly favors them to pick schools near bases.

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      • Affordable?!? You’re kidding me. The best ones cost a ridiculous amount of money since they are private.

        I won’t even get started on my opinion of many HBCU’s and their “impact” on our community.

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          • I’m from SC and the HBCU’s in my state are mostly a joke. The only one that is decent is SCState. http://www.edonline.com/hbcu/sc.htm

            Sorry but only a few HBCU’s actually provide a quality education and prepare their students for the real world. I know that you won’t agree since you went to Morehouse but that school is a shining star compared to the rest.

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            • Clafflin has stepped its game up from my understanding.

              SC State is starting to piss me off. I’m in no way connected to State but I want the school to thrive. State lost 500 students last August. The either didn’t re-enroll or enroll in the first place leaving them with a $6 mil shortfall. The other day a few admins were indicted http://www.wistv.com/story/20598145/sc-state-students-want-answers-in-wake-of-federal-indictments Again, I have no connection other than being a black SCer but they need to step it up.I hope they do.

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              • That’s horrible but that is the reputation of HCBU’s in the state. An abundance of arrogance with nothing to back it up with.

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              • I thought the arsonist was about to come out.

                Let’s keep it real, when people think of HBCU’s, they think of the same 7 or 8 that are the Ivy League of HBCU’s that can actually and do compete with PWCU. They don’t think about the other 100 that are doing a disservice by charging a student for a subpar education.

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        • I went to Howard between 2004-2007. I paid almost $14k per year, which is stupdily cheap compared to the other unversities in DC.

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          • Rewind, maybe that was back then but their website says differently. I will agree that it is a cheaper school in comparison to Georgetown, GWU, and AU but the school is not cheap and living in the area isn’t either.

            Granted, i tell most people to stay away from private schools for undergrad and to go to a public school. What you pay for isn’t necessarily what you are going to get in return. Too many kids are going to private institutions that are 30-50K a year and are coming out with huge amounts of debt and no jobs in sight when they could have gone to their in state public school (or one of the satellite campuses and transferred into the main university) and saved themselves a ton.

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            • this dude i encountered was upper middle class and went to public schools and when he went to college it was because he had mentors etc. who were willing to pay his way slightly. when he graduated he paid off his debt in a reasonable amount of time, is debt free, has a career with the potential to hit six figures, and will likely have the financial security to invest or go for a masters. public schools are what you make of them. private schools just come with prestige and connections but you can get that elsewhere when thats what youre aspiring to.

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            • I agree that going private does rack up a huge debt, as I’m currently in that hole, with most of the debt from Howard.But I still stick to what I said, compared to most of the universities in the DC/MD/VA area that are affordable in the range of $50K a year, Howard is a good choice, and many people choose it for their diverse programs, like ROTC. I’m never one to big up HU because I got some real spiteful memories of that place, but it still did me a solid regardless as a learning experience.
              -
              If people can afford to try, they should. If they want to stick to public universities and community colleges, that works to. Whatever they can to move on.

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      • WHOA….HBCU’s are def not affordable….aside from the powerhouse HBCUs (Howard, Spelman, Morehouse), their alum donations are low, their endowment is low, and their financial aid packages SUCK. I’d rather go to a $50k/yr school knowing i can get 80% of that in grants, than go to an $20k/yr HBCU and have to come up with more than 70% of that on my own and with loans….NOT THIS GIRL.

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    • We don’t *need* BET as much as we need balance and at least proportional portrayals of Black Americans on tv on every channel.

      HBCUs exist because of the bygone era…. depends on how much nostalgia we have for the way they do things.

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  7. As a longtime lurker, I think it’s finally time to comment.

    I think this could be considered a case of too little, too late. I’m going to make a huge exaggerated comparison of BET to Romney. Let’s say Mitt Romney came back tomorrow and tried to change his platform and have a voter recount. First of all, that would be dumb and second of all, at this point NO ONE is checking for him anymore. Same goes for BET, they may be able to grasp the next generation if they stay like this…but my days of BET love pretty much left along the same time AJ and Free did.

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  8. Black people who hate BET b/c of it’s horrible programming aren’t being unsupportive and causing it to fail. BET is failing b/c it chose not to support black people and churn out horrible programming year after year after year after year for more than a decade.

    Anyway, what the heck is so black about BET? Isn’t it owned and run by white folks at Viacom who just inherited the name when they bought the company? I just answered my own question: the only thing black about BET is the people they cast on it.

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  9. To answer your question: No.
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    For many of the people who have been with BET since its inception, nothing Black Entertainment Television does will ever be right.
    -
    Take, for instance, the Monday night block on VH1 that happens to coincide with my weekly wrestling program: Love & Hip-Hop and Black Ink. Both programs should be BET’s bread & butter block. In a strange irony, VH1, MTV and BET are all owned by the same company (Viacom), but had those two shows been on BET, they wouldn’t get as many viewers as they would on VH1. Then BET would’ve been criticized for showing their people in a negative light.
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    Problem is, thanks to the Telecommunications Act, there aren’t too many Black-owned television companies, and the ones that do make it are usually scooped up by one of the major media companies. Case in point: Centric. What was once an alternative to BET has essentially become a BET2.
    -
    Essentially, BET is in a Catch-22; everything they do will be heavily scrutinized and will never be enough, because everyone from the shareholders to the higher-ups have made their own bed in this matter.

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  10. IMO, BET isn’t hated so much for the bad programming over the last decade so much as people remember when BET was pretty good. And, in the comparison between the old (Donnie Simpson) BET and BET now, old BET will always win.

    -

    Also, people hate Debra Lee. Many people actually think she’s the ‘debble’, myself included. So, no matter what she does, we don’t trust her motives.

    -

    The only way BET can become viable again is under new ownership and after a name change. The name BET will be forever tainted. (looks down and whispers ‘forever’ like Brick from The Middle)

    -

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    • Its become a black MTV with worse veiwership. They could do a true revamp and maybe even split off the news division to really do news on a separate channel with other discussion shows and black independent films, But you’re right. At the moment the name is too tainted to truly get free of the ill will of the last decade. Maybe don’t change it by itself, but make it mean something again.

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      • Showing Black indie films would be great as long as they weren’t the cheap indies that always star Clifton Powell. Lol. If they did that I would actually get cable again. And a few political shows on Sunday morning would be good too.

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        • They should show the Nigerian soap operas I watch whenever I go get my hair braided. Those things have me sitting on the edge of my seat every damb time.

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          • Girl I thought I was the only one that gets into those nigerian flicks. I look forward to getting my hair braided just to watch the movies. They told me i could come back anytimes. Lol

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              • I doubt Netflix would have them but then again I’ve never searched their database for them.

                They’re low budget and full of drama about cheating wives/husbands. Absolutely hilarious and intriguing at the time.

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              • Gurl, you gotta watch these Nigerian productions. They have some serious talent. Its called Nollywood and its the next big thing. When I was in Ethiopia, they had a whole channel with just Nigerian movies. I was hooked

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    • I actually think that the name is pretty valuable. But it would take some sincerely innovative programming to reshape the network. They are attempting to put different types of shows on, but I’m not sure they’re going far enough. Or even have the money to pay the types of folks who could come up with groundbreaking television.

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      • Well that brings up the same question that shows up when Tyler Perry as a film Producer comes up. Would you send in your screenplay adaptation/tv pilot/political debate program idea to BET? Would you essentially let them have something that involves you creatively. I don’t know if I would personally, and I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt over the viacom based changes. How many good black filmakers/writers/politicans and political analysts/journalists/TV producers are right now saying an emphatic No because of what’s being done? And as much as I liked what I’ve seen out of the two shows mentioned I don’t think that’s changing those people’s minds.

        But I do disagree about payments. I don’t think BET needs to go Yankees,/Nets/Eagles/Real Madrid.and start spending insane money bringing in people. They need radical change that speaks for itself. Which means shows, films, journalistic work, and other alternative programming that isn’t as well known so peoplle have a reason to check it out. The don’t need a black Game of Thrones(actually maybe they do) But if AMC can get in as many viewers as it has when before Madmen Walking Dead and Breaking bad who watched that channel? Then BET could follow similar thinking without overspending. BET is a study in Television programming failures. But throw more money around isn’t really the solution.

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