Scott Mills Exited as BET CEO

Scott Mills, the president and CEO of BET, is exiting the company after 23 years. Louis Carr, BET’s longtime president of media sales, will take over the role; Carr has been in the company’s media sales division for 39 years.

Mills’ departure follows the exodus of pretty much every other Paramount Global brand’s top brass following the company’s merger with David Ellison’s Skydance Media. Once Ellison took over, BET became part of Paramount’s TV Media division, which also houses CBS, MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon. George Cheeks, formerly one third of Paramount Global’s “Office of the CEO,” leads the division as chairman. Cheeks’ former co-CEOs, Brian Robbins and Chris McCarthy, both exited months ago; McCarthy is following super producer Taylor Sheridan’s deal to NBCUniversal as a producer.

Mills was technically the president and CEO of BET Media Group, which includes the BET cable channel, the streamer BET+ and studio BET Studios. BET Studios is becoming a banner within the broaderCBS Studios and will continue to be run by Aisha Summers-Burke. (David Stapf is president of CBS Studios.)

The future of BET+ is currently unclear — from a leadership standpoint, at least.

Mills informed his staff of his departure on Wednesday. Read his memo below.

Dear Team,
After 23 years at BET, I’ve made the difficult decision to step down as president and CEO. Leading this extraordinary brand and serving the Black community alongside all of you has been an incredible honor and privilege. Your talent, passion, and unwavering commitment to BET’s mission have driven all that we’ve accomplished as a team. As I reflect on our journey, I’m deeply proud of what we’ve built.

When Bob Johnson asked me to join BET many years ago, I saw it as an opportunity to learn from America’s most successful Black entrepreneur. It proved to be a master class in bold vision and exceptional execution, culminating in the advent of the Black American billionaire.

This visionary approach continued under Debra Lee, who guided BET’s transition from music video programming to premium scripted originals and cultural tentpoles, greenlit groundbreaking hits like The Game, Being Mary Jane and The New Edition Story and elevated the BET brand.

When I returned to lead BET in 2018, the industry was confronting the inexorable decline of cable. Recognizing this, the BET team set about executing yet another bold, visionary plan: expanding BET beyond cable.

We launched BET+, which quickly grew to millions of subscribers and doubled our content production. We aggressively extended our digital footprint and grew our cable share. We followed our streaming success with the launch of BET Studios and then established a critical beachhead in the rapidly expanding FAST ecosystem with our co-branded FAST channels. In short, we transformed BET from a declining legacy cable business into a growing media company with leadership positions across the platforms most relevant to Black audiences.

The Black creative community’s support was instrumental to our success. From our record-breaking partnership with Tyler Perry – yielding countless hits and the #1 series on TV for Black audiences – to Lee Daniels delivering BET’s first primetime Emmy and Tony nominations and introducing us to the incredibly talented Ms. Pat and Jordan Cooper. From Queen Latifah and Deon Cole leading our celebration of Black excellence, to Taraji P. Henson schooling us on our largest stage, Kevin Hart coming home for the 25thanniversary of culture’s biggest night, and Jesse Collins’ producorial genius – the community’s support has been incredible.

What I cherish most about this journey is working alongside my incredible colleagues; being of service, including partnering with Black business leaders to raise nearly $20 million to support Black Americans during the pandemic; celebrating and supporting our community with outstanding partners like the NAACP and National Urban League; and collaborating with the smartest, boldest and most talented creative minds in the industry.

Thank you for your partnership, your passion and your belief in BET. Stewarding the brand has been a privilege, and I remain deeply proud of how we upheld its legacy while transforming it for the future.

With great appreciation,

Scott