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      *A report from the Associated Press details the ways in which BET Entertainment President Reginald Hudlin is working to make the company a more dominating presence – from Hollywood to the cable companies in America’s predominantly white suburbs. 

      More importantly, BET under Hudlin, is now going unabashedly after young viewers with its new programming slate, said Mark Anthony Neal, a Duke University professor and author of "Soul Babies: Black Pop Culture in the Post-Soul Aesthetic."      

      "Most of the criticisms of BET are really coming from folks who are over the age of 35 who, out of a black network, they really want some serious news, they want some serious talk, they want entertainment that doesn't play down to them," Neal told AP. "But that's not BET's audience now. BET's audience is essentially teenagers. So what Mr. Hudlin has had to do is find some programming that is innovative and interesting, but also speaks to the attention span of its audience."      

      BET is currently seen in more than 80 million homes, but it's still unavailable in certain spots of the country, including New Hampshire where the population is less than 1 percent black.  A recent visit to the state inspired him to devise a way to convince local operators of a cable system to add the network to its lineup.     

      “Hudlin pulled out a tape of Donnie Wahlberg talking about how important Black Entertainment Television was to him while growing up in nearby Boston,” writes AP. “Changing perceptions is a big part of Hudlin's job, particularly among the viewers who consider BET ‘our channel.’     

      Since joining BET more than a year ago, Hudlin has enjoyed success with the addition of popular reality shows on Lil' Kim and Keyshia Cole. His long term goal is to give the network a broader reach.     

      Toward that goal, Hudlin launched an animation division at BET and has several scripted shows in development to compliment new reality shows, a format that has thrived for corporate cousins MTV and VH1.     

      "The black audience wants to be respected," he told The Associated Press. "They want quality programs that respect their intelligence. It better be hip, it better be innovative and be as fresh as possible."

      "BET, until Reggie's tenure, has never had a public face in terms of entertainment," said writer Nelson George, who's producing a short-run documentary series that premieres on BET next month. "Their face has always been [creator] Bob Johnson making money. The number of people who want to do stuff with BET is very large."