Showtime and BET’s shared popularity with the African American community prompted the media giant to create the new Showtime plex channel, Yahoo Entertainment reports.
What We Know:
- In 2006, Viacom purchased BET for $2.3 billion, a network that now sits as a prominent feature of the new ViacomCBS family.
- ViacomCBS added “SHOxBET” to its channel lineup Wednesday. Both Showtime and BET are particularly popular among Black Americans which was the reason BET was introduced to the Showtime premium networks group after the merger, advised Scott Mills, president of BET Networks.
- “This channel is really a reflection of taking those complementary elements to the next logical conclusion,” Mills told Variety. “And that is, both platforms really understand premium programming to African American viewers and people who value content that is anchored in African American narratives and African American stories.”
- The channel will show replays of Showtime original shows such as The Chi, Black Monday, Desus & Mero and The Good Lord Bird. It will also offer movies like Waves, An Acceptable Loss, BET’s Back to the Goode Life, Keys to the City and miniseries Madiba. Boxing events, documentaries, sports series and stand-up comedy specials from Black comedians will also be featured.
- SHOxBET replaced SHO Beyond, the Showtime plex channel focused on sci-fi, fantasy and horror films.
Showtime CFO Tom Christie sees SHOxBET as the perfect way to diversify their brand, stating, “The goal for Showtime is to become broader, more accessible to different demo targets. And we think this is a very good first step to get there.”
