january 25 1980 ; 36 years ago 1980 01 25 as a programming block on nickelodeon july 1 1983 ; 33 years ago 1983 07 01 as a 24 hour tv channel network bet networks owned by viacom picture format 1080i hdtv 480i sdtv 16 9 letterbox slogan we got you . country united states broadcast area united states canada and france headquarters washington d.c. sister channel s bet gospel bet hip hop bet jams bet soul centric website bet.com availability satellite directv 329 hd sd 1329 vod dish network 124 hd sd bell tv telus satellite tv canada 576 sd shaw direct canada 582 sd cable available on most other cable systems check local listings for channels iptv verizon fios 770 hd 270 sd at & t u verse 1155 hd 155 sd bell aliant tv canada 221 sd bell fibe tv canada 576 sd telus optik tv canada 565 sd vmedia canada 74 sd streaming media playstation vue internet protocol television sling tv internet protocol television black entertainment television bet is an american basic cable and satellite television channel that is owned by the bet networks division of viacom . it is the most prominent television network targeting african american audiences 1 with approximately 88 255 000 american households 75.8 % of households with television receiving the channel . . 2 the channel has offices in washington d.c. new york city los angeles and chicago . 3 programming on the network consists of original and acquired television series and theatrically and direct to video released films . the network also formerly aired a variety of stand up comedy news and current affairs programs as well as mainstream rap hip hop and r & b music videos which now air on its bet branded sister networks . contents 1 history 2 programming 2.1 bet walk of fame awards 2.2 bet awards 2.3 bet honors 3 international 3.1 bet international 3.2 canada 3.3 france 4 bet interactive 5 bet home entertainment 6 criticism 7 bet uncut 8 see also 9 references 10 further reading 11 external links history edit after stepping down as a lobbyist for the cable industry freeport illinois native robert l. johnson decided to launch his own cable television network . johnson would soon acquire a loan for 15 000 and a 500 000 investment from media executive john malone to start the network . 4 the network which was named black entertainment television launched on january 25 1980 . 5 initially broadcasting for two hours a week as a block of programming on nickelodeon it would not be until 1983 that bet became a full fledged channel the network s lineup consisted of music videos and reruns of popular black sitcoms . 4 bet launched a news program bet news in 1988 with ed gordon as its anchor . gordon later hosted other programs and specials on bet such as black men speak out the aftermath related to the 1992 los angeles riots and a recurring interview show conversations with ed gordon . 6 in 1996 the talk show bet tonight debuted with tavis smiley as host ; in 2001 ed gordon replaced smiley as host of the program . in 1991 the network became the first black controlled tv company to be listed on the new york stock exchange . 4 starting the late 1990s the network expanded with the launch of digital cable networks what is now the general interest channel centric originally launched as bet on jazz later known as bet jazz and bet j created originally to showcase jazz music related programming especially that of black jazz musicians ; in 1998 it entered into a joint venture with starz then owned by john malone s liberty media to launch a multiplex service of the premium channel featuring african american oriented movies called bet movies starz 3 later renamed black starz after bet dropped out of the venture following its purchase by viacom then owner of starz rival showtime and now known as starz inblack . in 2001 the network lost its status as a black owned business when it was bought by media conglomerate viacom for 3 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 . by 2007 the network had launched two more music oriented networks bet hip hop and bet gospel . bet also launched a batch of original programming by this time including reality shows baldwin hills and hell date competition show sunday best and town hall style discussion show hip hop vs. america . 7 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 . 8 bet announced in march 2010 that ed gordon would return to the network to host a variety of news programs and specials . 9 logo from 2005 to 2012 the 2005 2012 logo often used a red star programming edit main article list of programs broadcast by bet bet s programming began with a wide scope of comedy music public affairs and news programming including comicview video soul with donnie simpson video vibrations softones screen scene unreal planet groove caribbean rhythms jam zone cita s world teen summit bet news with ed gordon lead story bet tonight with tavis smiley and bet nightly news . original programming currently seen on bet includes the game real husbands of hollywood and being mary jane . by the early 2010s the only regularly airing urban music video program on bet was 106 & park which debuted in september 2000 and ended in december 2014 . 10 bet also airs a program block called bet inspiration which features christian programming . this block airs in lieu of infomercials in late night which the network has not aired since 1997 ; 11 bet is one of a handful of cable channels and one of only two viacom owned networks to have discontinued airing infomercials sister network nick at nite ran infomercials in some overnight timeslots from 1987 to 1998 with series airing in that daypart since then . in addition the channel broadcasts acquired television series primarily in the form of sitcoms such as the parkers family matters and moesha drama series such as scandal and same day or week delayed late night runs of syndicated talk shows namely the wendy williams show the real and dish nation . feature films released theatrically and on home video are also aired on the channel comprising much of its primetime and weekend schedule . bet walk of fame awards edit the bet walk of fame awards were established in 1995 by bet . in 2004 proceeds were shared between united negro college fund uncf and the bet foundation which executes the healthy bet obesity awareness campaign and other pro social causes like the annual charitable black tie bet walk of fame ceremony . 12 bet awards edit main article bet awards the bet awards were established in 2001 by the network to celebrate african americans and other minorities in music acting sports and other fields of entertainment over the past year . the awards are presented annually and broadcast live on bet . bet commissioned artist sculptor and hip hop culture icon carlos mare139 rodriguez to design the award sculpture . global promotion is provided by kroszover entertainment . bet honors edit main article the bet honors the bet honors were established in 2008 by the network to honor the lives and achievements of african american luminaries . the awards are presented annually and broadcast on bet during black history month each february . international edit bet international edit main article bet international bet uk first transmitted on videotron now known as virgin media and several other cable providers from 1993 until 1996 . 13 in may 2007 by ofcom bet international inc. was given a license to rebroadcast in the united kingdom . bet international is the first international version of the channel and is available in europe africa and the middle east through satellite providers . bet launched on february 27 2008 on sky channel 191 and began to be carried by freesat channel 140 on august 8 2008 . bet 1 is also available on sky channel 198 and freesat channel 141 and is free to air . bet international shows a mix of content from the main bet channel and locally produced shows . an exclusive but temporary hd version of the channel was made to show the 2009 bet awards on freesat epg 142 . bet is additionally an associate member of the caribbean cable cooperative . 14 canada edit bet became available in canada in october 1997 on most cable and satellite providers . the canadian feed mirrors the american feed though sitcoms and films with rights belonging to other canadian television channels are replaced with old blocks of music videos namely bet music the pull up and bet now . france edit since november 17 2015 . bet interactive edit in 2006 bet interactive llc became a subsidiary of bet . 15 bet also has a digital group including bet.com bet on blast bet on demand and bet mobile . 16 bet home entertainment edit bet s programming is distributed on dvd and through video on demand services under the name bet home entertainment . in 2007 a distribution deal was arranged with paramount home entertainment . 17 18 criticism edit a wide range of people have protested elements of bet s programming and actions including public enemy rapper chuck d 19 journalist george curry 20 writer keith boykin 21 comic book creator christopher priest 22 filmmaker spike lee 23 syracuse university professor of finance dr. boyce watkins 24 and cartoonist aaron mcgruder who in addition to numerous critical references throughout his series the boondocks made two particular episodes the hunger strike and the uncle ruckus reality show criticizing the channel . as a result bet heavily censors suggestive content from the videos that it airs often with entire verses and scenes removed from certain rap videos . 25 26 many scholars within the african american community maintain that bet perpetuates and justifies racism by affecting the stereotypes held about african americans and also by affecting the psyche of its young viewers through its bombardment of negative images of african americans . 27 following the death of civil rights leader coretta scott king in 2006 bet broadcast its regularly scheduled music video programming rather than covering king s funeral live as cnn fox news channel msnbc and bet competitors tv one and black family channel did . the bet website streamed the funeral live while the channel periodically broadcast taped 60 second reports from the funeral by senior news correspondent andre showell . michael lewellen bet s senior vice president for corporate communications defended the decision we weighed a number of different options . in the end we chose to offer a different kind of experience for bet viewers . lewellen also said that bet received around two dozen phone calls and a handful of emails criticizing bet for not showing the king funeral live . 28 on the evening of the funeral february 7 2006 bet broadcast the tribute special coretta scott king married to the mission and bet repeated this the following sunday february 12 . 29 showell hosted a program featuring highlights of the funeral coretta scott king celebrating her spirit that broadcast that same day . 30 in its 2007 convention the national association of black journalists gave bet its thumbs down award for not broadcasting king s funeral live . 31 the new york times reported that the reverend delman l. coates and his organization enough is enough led protests every weekend outside the residences of bet executives against what they claim are