BET Faces Massive Layoffs Ahead Of Paramount’s Job Cuts

BET Media Group is a widely popular company dedicated to the Black community. It not only plays music but also produces movies and TV shows.

Over the years, it has created its own streaming service and holds an annual award show every June. However, has made several headlines.

BET CEO Scott Mills announced that across multiple departments, Black Entertainment Television is making layoffs ahead of its Parent Company, Paramount, which is also receiving cutbacks.

The layoffs were announced in a memo to staff on Wednesday, which Variety obtained.

In the memo, he wrote, “As Paramount code CEO recently shared the company is taking further steps to streamline Paramount to ensure that it is position for continued success,” Mills then continued and stated, “BET is not immune to the conditions necessitating these actions, so we too, must reduce staff within our organization.”

The number of BET staff members being cut is unknown as of now. On June 10, Paramount Global announced that these cuts are part of the 3.5% reduction in the U.S. Workforce.

Paramount Global is the parent company of CBS, Paramount+, and other TV stations like Comedy Central. It is awaiting approval from the Trump administration’s FCC deal to merge with Skydance Media.

BET is implementing a “streamlined organization structure” where it will continue regular operations such as content strategy, production, marketing, and other social media tools, such as impact and sales, that “are core to our mission, value proposition, and market leadership position.”

BET plans to do TV research, finance, and business legal affairs to “Further leverage paramount scale support functions.” Mills states.

Reporters outside the White House asked the President about the progress of the FCC deal. Despite not answering the question directly, he discussed his current $20 billion lawsuit against CBS over a “60 Minutes” interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris.

In the memo, Mills notes that this is a “difficult moment” for the company. He states, “This is a very difficult moment—the departure of talented team members who have been great collaborators, colleagues, and friends; team members who have so meaningfully contributed to BET’s success and who share our passion for BET‘s mission and purpose. On behalf of everyone at BET, I thank our departing team members for their great work, their sacrifice, and their enduring contributions to BET’s legacy.”

Click here for more stories from Digital Media Generation.