i3 - January/February 2020 - 47

BET'S BOB JOHNSON

SPEAKS OUT

By Marcel "The Messenger" Jeremiah

rom watching 106 & Park every
day after school, witnessing the
special musical moments of the BET
Awards or even catching reruns of The
Parkers, BET was the first media that I
consumed that unapologetically captured
black culture. Black Entertainment
Television launched as a 24-hour TV channel in 1983, giving people of color a space
to learn, be entertained and be represented. Black viewers finally had a channel
that fully represented them. Now, BET
Founder Bob Johnson wants to bring that
representation to a new generation.
I recently spoke with Johnson about the
future of his video on demand (VOD) venture and the importance of bringing technology and content together for new
audiences. When companies realize there's
a demand for content in specific demographics and they supply consumers with
what they want to see, the outcome is a
concept like BET. Over the past few years
there's been a resurgence of black leading
characters on primetime television. It's not
an accident, either. TV showrunner
Shonda Rhimes has the power to create
whatever she wants because of her successful shows like Scandal, Grey's Anatomy
and How To Get Away With Murder, which
have a diverse cast, people of color in leading roles and original storytelling.
"Technology gives you an emotionally
engaging experience of voices, words,
stories and music - things that make
you feel a certain emotion," Johnson
says. As television, the internet and now

Melissa Golden/Redux

C TA . t e c h / i 3

augmented reality devices

BET Founder come into play, experiences
Bob Johnson become immersive and the

content has to be stronger
than ever. Johnson is utilizing the importance of creating and highlighting solid
content when it comes to his
streaming ser vice RL J
Entertainment, which was
acquired by AMC Networks
for roughly $274 million,
according to the companies.
RLJ serves two distinct
audiences with Acorn TV
(British TV) and UMC
(Urban Movie Channel).
Understanding the necessity
for diversity in media, he
hopes to continue creating
opportunities for talented
black creators. During the
interview, Johnson also gave
a nod to the guilty pleasures
of the internet like Worldstar
Hip Hop, Diamond and Silk's

YouTube channel, and The Shade Room.
No matter how you feel about celebrity
gossip and viral videos, he says, they're a
huge market.
"Cable television is the transmission of
other people's content," Johnson claimed,
and content rules everything around us.
We're bombarded by advertisements when
we watch videos on YouTube or listen to
the radio. Marketers are becoming more
invested in content marketing to influence
consumers who have gotten savvy with
their ad blocking features but are willing
to read articles and watch videos that have
value to them. But at the end of the day
there is no audience without content that
speaks to them. Johnson has built a career
highlighting stories for a segment of the
population that doesn't always get deemed
worthy in the mainstream audience's eyes.
As we progress as a society those gatekeepers are slowly opening the doors.
One tool that wasn't properly highlighted is blockchain technology. With the
ability to secure transactions digitally,
content marketers and writers can connect with publishers directly and determine the value of their work without the
traditional system. Johnson believes the
internet is bringing control to consumers
and how people should not be afraid of
free expression of ideas and blockchain
technology will help bring that element of
freedom to creators.
Technology is advancing quickly, and
content creators need to advance alongside it.
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2020

https://cta.tech/i3

i3 - January/February 2020

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