BET Soul (formally VH1 Soul) is an American pay television network that debuted on August 1, 1998, and is currently owned by Paramount Global's BET Media Group. The channel showcases R&B, funk, soul, neo soul, hip hop, jazz and Motown music from various decades.
 | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Nationwide |
| Headquarters | New York City, New York |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | English |
| Picture format | 480i (SDTV) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Paramount Global |
| Parent | BET Media Group (CBS Entertainment Group) |
| Sister channels | List
|
| History | |
| Launched | August 1, 1998 |
| Former names | VH1 Soul (1998-2015) |
| Links | |
| Website | BET Soul[dead link] |
| Availability | |
| Streaming media | |
| FuboTV | Internet Protocol television |
Soul was originally a commercial-free service, along with sister channel VH1 Smooth, and part of the "MTV Digital Suite" of digital cable channels (which was sold only to cable providers to give them an advantage over satellite services). The first video shown on the channel was "Boogie Wonderland" by Earth, Wind & Fire.[1]
On December 28, 2015, management of the channel was moved to BET Networks. It was subsequently rebranded as BET Soul that same day, and became a sister channel to BET.[2] The move would be part of a series of programming and management shifts within then-parent company Viacom in the coming years.[3] In 2019, the legacy assets of Viacom and CBS Corporation would be reunited in a merger between the two companies that led to the formation of ViacomCBS, later to be rebranded as Paramount Global.
On November 9, 2022, oversight of VH1 would move to the later-renamed BET Media Group. The move reunited the two networks, while also splitting them from MTV and its other formerly-branded sibling channels (VH1 Classic and VH1 Country).[4]
References
edit- ^ Hay, Carla (August 22, 1998). "MuchMusic Readies Awards, Spinoff Channel; MTV's Suite Set". Vol. 110, no. 34. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 85. Retrieved May 30, 2019.
- ^ Chapman Jr., George (28 December 2015). "VH1 Soul to Become BET Soul The 24-hour music video channel to make big switch today". BET Networks. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
- ^ Lieberman, David (February 9, 2017). "Viacom CEO Supports Paramount And Non-Core Networks – But For How Long?". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (2022-11-09). "VH1 Shifts From Paramount Media Networks To BET Media Group Under Scott Mills". Deadline. Retrieved 2022-11-10.