Michael Jackson Saved BET

Debra Lee, CEO of the Black television network BET, which has served on the network for 25 years, said that at the beginning of its founding, the network was under financial pressure due to financial issues—and it was Michael’s videos and songs that saved the network.

Speaking at a Michael Jackson tribute event held during the network’s annual general meeting in the final days of September in Washington, D.C., she said that in the 1980s they faced a financial crisis and, to escape the situation, they turned to producing cheap shows and broadcasts. They would buy videos from companies and, by putting them together, create very professional shows. Michael would provide his very expensive videos to the network for free, which ultimately turned the network into a highly profitable business.

Ms. Lee says that if Michael had forgotten BET after destroying the racial barriers of MTV’s music network, the consequences for this Black network would have been disastrous. She said plainly that in that case, the network’s death knell would have sounded. But Michael gave his new videos to both MTV and BET at the same time. And that is what made BET; lasting, independent, and entertaining.

Debra also praised Michael’s impact on the entertainment industry: “He was the one who turned videos into evolved, entertaining shows. And he did it better than anyone else.”

Source: eMJey / rollingout.com