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Tyler Perry Signs Historic Deal With VIACOM In Film & TV Including BET

Tyler Perry signs a major television and film deal with VIACOM, one of the biggest deals in the history of entertainment. Viacom, the owner of B.E.T announced earlier this year that they will be pulling their resources and making B.E.T one of their flagship companies. B.E.T recently let go Stephen Hill, who was an executive of programming there.

Considering Tyler Perry ended his deal with LionsGate, everyone wanted to know what the next move was going to be. Tyler’s deal at OWN secured him several successful tv shows, but Tyler bought space in Atlanta, one of the biggest lots in tv and film and now maybe we know why!

DISCOVER: Tyler Perry Plans To Hire 2000 People Of Colour

Having major success as a Writer, Director and Actor, Tyler Perry is a force and this deal is just yet another co-sign to that fact. Deadline breaks the exclusive news, and this is what VIACOM, Tyler Perry, and Debra Lee had to say about it;

‘Today’s announcement represents an important step forward as Viacom continues to make swift progress against our new strategic plan…By prioritizing efforts to work with the best, most versatile talent in the entertainment industry, we are better positioned to deliver must-watch content across our brands and platforms. Tyler is a prolific creative force, and I’m excited that this collaboration will bring his signature humor and powerful storytelling to Viacom’s audiences while further cementing BET’s position as the leading home for bold, relevant African-American programming and scripted content.’ -Bob Bakish, President and CEO of Viacom

I am delighted that we are deepening our longstanding relationship with Tyler…BET co-funded Tyler’s very first feature film, we’ve aired his movies and many of his series with great success on our networks, and we’ve honored his tremendous talent with our signature awards. This partnership will allow us to work even more closely with him and bring more of his iconic content to our viewers. – Debra L. Lee, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BET Networks

‘Viacom has a rich tradition of reaching my audience through their TV, film and digital platforms and I am excited to partner with them….I am eager to have one home where I can leverage all of their assets to tell my stories to an even wider audience. I have been very blessed to have worked with the incredible people at Lionsgate and OWN over the last few years and I look forward to continuing my work with them on a non-exclusive basis.’ -Tyler Perry

Deadline even asked OWN about their thoughts on Tyler Perry’s latest venture, and from the looks of it OWN is happy. Tyler Perry signed an exclusive deal with OWN, and even has stake in the company, but in 2020 the deal with be over. OWN says they will continue to work with Perry, but non-exclusively.

Tyler was a driving force in keeping OWN on the air. Now that shows like “Queen Sugar”, and “Greenleaf” which are not Tyler Perry productions have provided success for OWN, they will focus on more content of that nature. The over 500 episodes and 5 shows Perry has through OWN will continue.

This is an epic deal, I can’t wait to see what’s next!