BET Media Group President and CEO Scott Mills is stepping down from the role after more than two decades with the company, he announced in an all-staff memo on Wednesday.
His exit has been in the works for about a month, and he finalized the terms of his departure in mid-November, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Louis Carr, the President of Media Sales, will succeed Mills in the CEO role and will report to Paramount’s TV Media Chairman George Cheeks. BET Studios, the production arm of BET Media, is being rolled into CBS Studios as part of the transition.
“Leading this extraordinary brand and serving the Black community alongside all of you has been an incredible honor and privilege,” Mills wrote in his memo to employees on Wednesday.
Second to Cheeks, Mills was the highest-ranking executive to remain at Paramount once its merger with Skydance Media was completed in August. Carr is one of the most-tenured executives at BET Media and Paramount. BET Media was founded in 1983, and became part of Paramount predecessor Viacom in 2001.
Bringing BET Studios into the CBS Studios portfolio is part of a broader realignment of Paramount’s traditional media business units following its merger with Skydance. It isn’t clear what will happen with other BET Media assets, including BET Plus, the streaming service that shares common ownership with Paramount Plus and Pluto TV but is operated as a separate business.
Mills’ memo to employees is 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 Plus, 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 number 1 series on TV for Black audiences – to Lee Daniels delivering BET’s first prime-time 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 25th anniversary 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
