Who owns BET?

Black Entertainment Television was founded by Robert L. Johnson, who was also the first African-American billionaire in history and the part-owner of the Charlotte Bobcats NBA team.

He stayed on as president through the purchase of the channel by Viacom (owner of CBS and other networks) in 1999, up until 2005, when he turned over the title of president to Debra L. Lee, the company's current president. Lee is an African-American businesswoman who serves on the Board of Directors of several major companies, in addition to her role as president of BET Holdings, the company that operates BET as well as related channels and media. BET Holdings is a subsidiary of Viacom, Inc.