Scott M. Mills has been promoted to chief executive officer of Black Entertainment Television (BET Networks).
The announcement came Monday from Bob Bakish, president and CEO of BET parent company ViacomCBS, and chairman and CEO of Showtime Networks David Nevins.
Mills served as president of BET for four years before being elevated to CEO. He has served in a variety of executive roles since joining BET in 1997. Beginning his BET career in business development, he later served as head of BET Interactive, CFO and president of digital media and then chief operating officer. In the mid-2010s, he moved to Viacom, where he held the post of executive vice president and chief executive officer before becoming president of BET in 2017.
“Under Scott’s leadership, BET has reached new heights with continued commercial success and profound cultural impact during a period of immense industry and social change,” Bakish said in a statement. “Scott has been instrumental in the expansion of the BET brand as the premier destination for Black entertainment and top talent, and he has spearheaded transformative initiatives that not only give back to the community but also play a critical role in representation in front of and behind the camera. BET is a source of inspiration and pride across the company, and I’m excited for BET’s strong future ahead with Scott at the helm.”
Said Mills in the statement, “BET is uniquely positioned to thrive at the intersection of content, community, and culture. “Through the power of the BET brand, our incredible team and great partners, we’ve established leading business franchises across linear, streaming, digital, and most recently, content development and distribution. It is an extraordinary privilege to steward such a culturally significant brand with an enormous legacy as a catalyst for change. As CEO, I look forward to working with my immensely talented BET colleagues and our great partners to ensure that BET continues to thrive and remains ideally positioned to succeed in the ever-changing media landscape.”
In his post as president, Mills expanded the BET brand with the launch of BET+, a premium subscription streaming service; BET Studios, a studio venture that provides equity ownership to Black content creators, and other ventures. According to the statement, the global media brand is the largest commissioner of Black premium content through its partnerships with Tyler Perry, Lena Waithe, Kenya Barris, Lee Daniels and many others.
