As BET undergoes several changes as Skydance takes over Paramount Global, new BET President Louis Carr did an interview with Forbes about the direction of the company. Carr interestingly hinted at the company possibly experimenting with sports.
“I think that we have probably a better chance than most brands that are serving our community… because we’ve continued to sort of be profitable,” Carr said. “And I think when we look at what is our new operating model, one of the first things I’m trying to do is to get more swings at bat to get more content on the air. And whether that is looking at sports, we’re looking at comedy, bringing comedy back, so we’re trying a lot of different things to sort of figure out what works in today’s marketplace.”
We’ve already seen the sports pivot at BET over the past year. The channel aired 106 & Sports hosted by Ashley Nicole Moss and Cam Newton. The network also recently aired The Coach Vick Experience and a documentary from Baller Alert about the Fisk University gymnastics team. So they’re wading in the water when it comes to sports—and particularly HBCU sports, as 106 & Sports really honed in on topics surrounding HBCU athletics. I find it really interesting that Carr said he wants to do more sports in his tenure.
There is a way for Louis Carr to have a lot of sports on BET without spending a lot of money, and get just as many people watching as they do for reruns of Martin or the “Tyler Perry Universe” shows. They should show HBCU sports, and particularly, they should show HBCU football. For years, BET was synonymous with showcasing HBCU football matchups. In the eighties and nineties, they used to show HBCU football on a tape delay because they wanted to ensure people went to the games instead of watching on what they called a “free ticket.” I’m glad we’re over that philosophy now and have plentiful live HBCU sports on different platforms.
But when BET got out of the game of HBCU football, we suffered. A lot of our games were relegated to platforms people didn’t know about or to ESPNU and ESPN3. HBCU football was not getting the spotlight that it rightfully deserved—not because of celebrities, but because of the high level of play the players have been delivering for years.
BET has already “dabbled” in HBCU life by bringing back College Hill: Celebrity Edition, which was very successful. So, why not do HBCU football? I can envision BET bringing it back through a partnership with Byron Allen. He recently bought the time slots formerly occupied by Late Show with Stephen Colbert—which is ending—to put his Comics Unleashed and Funny You Should Say That programs onto CBS. It was a smart move for Byron Allen’s empire, given his large amount of money and massive media war chest. And it could be a smart play for Allen Media Group
Allen could buy space on BET for his HBCU games on HBCU Go. Or we can go for a more realistic option: BET could sub-license one or two of Byron Allen’s HBCU games from HBCU Go each week during the football and basketball seasons. If they want to go with the best value proposition, they could try HBCU football first, as there are plenty of attractive games that aren’t broadcast on either ESPN, HBCU Go, or an individual conference digital network.
You could make this an HBCU Go and BET Sports collaboration. You wouldn’t even have to spend a lot of money, and you could sell advertisers on live sports, which is a huge sector in media. You could play College Hill: Celebrity Edition or the Fisk University documentary after the game. I don’t believe HBCU football would perform worse than a rerun of Martin.
Once I posted this idea on X, Mo Carter, an amazing sports anchor and HBCU play-by-play talent, brought up some brilliant points that point to what could impede this from happening.
Not a bad idea Randall, but here are 2 things:
1) BET (more so Paramount) has to create a media kit that has both linear & digital packages in place to earn a spot in the bidding process for broadcast rights
2) BET would have to outbid Amazon Prime for the HBCUGO syndication
— Mo Carter (@MoCarterFOX54) April 10, 2026
I’m not totally married to the idea of HBCU Go picking up the mantle here. Maybe due to business, internal politics or pre-approved business agreements, sublicensing or syndicating HBCU Go games wouldn’t work. There’s another option that I believe makes sense: use CBS Sports, which is in-house with Paramount. I doubt that it would be a lot of money shelled out by BET, given the fact that CBS Sports and BET are under the Paramount Global umbrella.
If Louis Carr wants to get into sports, he has to consider working with HBCUs. It’s not just a legacy play or nostalgia; it’s a good business prospect. While BET caters to a loyal audience of Black women ages 18-45, HBCU football can cater to that demographic while also bringing in Black men and older alumni.
If they are wading in the water of HBCU sports and culture, they might as well dive all the way in. And, the perfect time is now.
As BET undergoes several changes as Skydance takes over Paramount Global, new BET President Louis Carr did an interview with Forbes about the direction of the company. Carr interestingly hinted at the company possibly experimenting with sports.
