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BET'S REGINALD HUDLIN: One Year Later
Will BET’s Audience Appeal Survive the Upcoming Changes?
“First of all, as a storyteller, this is the biggest canvas in the world. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. I could do movies, drama, and sports. I could do everything, so that’s exciting. Second of all, as a Black person who cares about our community, to program the world’s largest black media company; to create programming that could travel around the world is a very import thing.”
Amidst the networks’ longstanding criticism from African American audiences who argue that the “preeminent” Black media conglomerate has slacked off, sold-out and holds little to no regard for quality programming; not to mention the brouhaha that began to escalate following the birth of “new kid” TV One; Hudlin, a Harvard University graduate now in charge of all BET programming, film and program acquisitions and program development units, had to know his work was cut out for him.
“...It’s going to take a long time before BET gets the benefit of the doubt,” Hudlin comments. “I think it will take a minimum three years for the success and growth of interventional programming before folks will go, ‘you know, that BET is pretty good.’”
With Hudlin’s background, if anyone has a chance to turn BET around it’s him.
“He is one of Hollywood’s brightest, and most creative minds,” commented BET’s CEO Debra Lee, upon hiring him last June 2005.
Because his extensive background has covered the creative gamut in film and television via award-winning directing, writing and production work on show’s such as “Everybody Hates Chris,” “The Bernie Mac Show” and even the animated Cartoon Network show, “The Boondocks” on which he still serves as executive producer, he is most likely a visionary; someone who will be able to anticipate the wants and needs of BET’s audience and supply an adequate balance of programming; enabling the network to recoup their loss of, in this case, respect.
“...The first quarter of programming has been the most successful in the history of BET,” according to Hudlin. “Ratings are up 20% so the fact is people are responding already to the new programming initiatives and they love it. Flat out love it,” he notes.
He also dismisses any claim that TV One is a viable competitor and states any news to the contrary has “nothing to do with reality.”
“They’re so small compared to our audience. I guess you can compare them to BET Chain, our spin-off channel; they’re about the same size. But BET has a 100% brand awareness. We’re in 80 million households. There is no point of comparison….Bottom line, we’re putting foot to ass on every level.” Hudlin asserts.
Hudlin’s new programming for BET will include the networks first ever animated division; a passion for the man who created the world’s first Black Superhero (“The Black Panther”) and wrote the “Spider-Man” series for Marvel comics. Hudlin has more than 50,000 comic books in his personal collection.
“Production of animation can take anywhere from one to two years; so these shows won’t be ready until Fall of ’07. We’re working on the shows already, and we’ll be making some announcement soon on that programming…when people see some of these shows, their minds will be blown,” Hudlin confidently states.
"As successful as BET has been in the past 25 years, I knew that an aggressive investment in original programming…could turn BET from a beast to a monster,” Hudlin stated about the BET strategy in a press release nine months after his appointment as BET President of Entertainment. “I wanted BET to be like Motown – a soulful beat that the whole world dances to.”
BET’s 2006-2007 original programming, while still in development, promises a potpourri of wide-ranging, eclectic projects. “Next Level: Vince Young” follows the football champion’s competitive journey after his collegiate championship for the Texas Longhorns. Rising star Keyshia Cole will be featured as viewers see her private life and music career ignite in “Star Time: Keyshia Cole.” BET will chronicle some of the country’s most powerful Black gangsters on “American Gangster,” while a new late-night anthology series, “Black Book Diaries” will serve to tantalize those eligible for the “grown and sexy” side of life.
Other original shows coming to light will include “Iron Ring” which depicts the hard-hitting sport of Ultimate Fighting; “HOTWYRED” a program about high-tech toys and multi-media gadgets will also guide viewers to the hottest music downloads, websites, ring tones and video games. “THE BLACK CARPET” is where BET promises to deliver the full range of Black experiences-- from the Detroit Hair Show to the NBA All-Star Game to the Oakland Players Ball. And of course, the hip-hop unit will have its day when hardcore rap impresario DMX stars in “DMX: SOUL OF A MAN” a show that promises to reveal sides to DMX rarely seen; from a caring and concerned father to the friendly neighborhood taxpayer in the tiny town of Carefree, Arizona, where the rapper spends much of his down time.
Although Hudlin deserves a firm pat-on-the-back for this year’s BET Awards, which drew a hefty 4.1 million viewers-- despite Damon Wayans as host; and a beautiful showing of 2.9 million viewers for the rollout of the “BET News Black Carpet” post show, only time will tell if the still- in-progress-changes that are promised will be enough to turn things around for the network. And it’s still too soon to determine the weight of Hudlin’s impact thus far. Audiences have such an array of available programming now—albeit may not be all-Black, all-the-time; but with all the available cable options; and the ability to Tivo everything—allowing us to watch TV in an entirely different way-- do we really “need” to wait three years to see if BET’s “new lineup” is good? It will take a definite “wow-factor” type of consistency to get us to tune in long enough to have an impact.
As a journalist the work of DeBorah B. Pryor continues to reach national and international audiences. She has interviewed some of the entertainment industry’s most prominent people and has traveled extensively throughout the world. She presides over The Art of Communication: Public speaking for private people, a 2-hour-workshop teaching self-empowerment. She is a freelance speechwriter and copy editor. For information on the upcoming Los Angeles workshop or to schedule a private consultation, Ms. Pryor can be reached at 818.247.2812 or via email at DeBorah@Dpryorpresents.com.
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