BET Entertainment Chief Reginald Hudlin Is Stepping Down...Is BET Struggling In The Ratings?
BET entertainment chief Reginald Hudlin is stepping down
No official explanation is given for his departure, but the Viacom-owned cable network has been struggling in the ratings.
By Greg Braxton, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
September 12, 2008
After three years as president of entertainment at Black Entertainment Television, Reginald Hudlin is leaving his post at the Viacom Inc.-owned cable network, the company announced Thursday. No official explanation was given for his departure.
Hudlin, a filmmaker who rose to prominence in the 1980s and '90s with box-office successes such as "House Party" and "Boomerang," will step down within a few weeks and return to his "entrepreneurial roots as an independent producer," said Debra L. Lee, chief executive of BET Networks.
Stephen Hill, BET's executive vice president of music programming and talent, will serve as interim entertainment chief. Lee said she hoped to find a successor for Hudlin within the next few months.
"Reggie accomplished a lot and launched a lot of great show franchises," Lee said. "He has accomplished what he intended to do, and we're hoping that his programming strategy continues."
Though some executives said the exit was Hudlin's decision, other insiders said the split was by mutual agreement. One of Hudlin's goals when he took over at BET was to showcase more positive images of African Americans, but the strategy, which produced no breakout hits, left the network struggling in the ratings. BET's second-quarter prime-time viewership ratings this year have dropped about 14% compared with last year.
The executive's departure closely follows some critical acclaim for Tuesday's premiere of "Somebodies," BET's first scripted series ever in its 28-year history -- and a show Hudlin developed. His plans for an animated series on BET about a black superhero created considerable buzz at this summer's Comic-Con International convention in San Diego.
In an interview, Hudlin said he felt "very grateful. There are not a lot of places where a creator would get a call to be asked to be an executive."
He added, "I knew that I would return to the creative arena at some point. There have always been a lot of opportunities shooting my way."
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Could It Be B.E.T. Just Sucks?
Are They Killing Hip-Hop?
Tags: bet
Comment
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Comment by jean on September 15, 2008 at 7:21pm - man they need to bring back aj and free. They were the shit, these new hostess sucks. The show is dry now
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Comment by keona hicks on September 14, 2008 at 6:29pm - take rocsi off she is not a good host she sucks she is so phony i loved the show when free and the guy with braids were on there
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Comment by hood 2 da burbs on September 13, 2008 at 9:49am - don't 4 get about her cornball sidekick terrence j what a clown n rocsi only good 4 suckin dick other den dat she has da body of a 8yr old boy no homo
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Comment by elite on September 13, 2008 at 9:33am - first real nigga, whos second real nigga? ahaha, PICTURE ME ROLLING, CAN YOU SEE ME NIGGA?, (ITS HARD TO IMAGINE)
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Comment by mr.martin on September 13, 2008 at 8:36am - Dont blam it on Rocsi the whole network is more focused on chris brown & soulja boy & Rihanna they took big tigger off rap city & the show aint been the same since they dropped meylissa ford & julissa they cut BET Uncut the last award show was lame other than ciara dancin & ne-yo's performance the rest of the show was shitty somebodies is a good show but people can't watch if they dont know about it(no promo)was the problem . 106&Park is really all bet got jumpin right now and thats gettin old to a lot of people Rocsi looks good every show & terrance j. is a real cool dude always positive . The black carpet needs to come on weeknights like Entertainment tonight & Access hollywood & the E-channel show cause that is like our black version of Entertainment tonight and it only comes on once a week by that time everything they talk about we already know because of the internet I'll be honest the only reason i watch is to support Danella she is sexy and they never let her be on any other shows So what im sayin is if 106 and the black carpet dont do well Its a wrap for bet Sorry! Oh well BBTV coming 2009 if yall aint know Masters-p new network is coming out in 2009 & u wont need bet no more Remember BBTV in 2009 chick it out!
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Comment by BedFIl on September 13, 2008 at 1:03am - bring back uncensored videos...
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Comment by Will on September 12, 2008 at 10:32pm - YOU WANA KNOW WHY BET IS GOING DOWN IN RATINGS. BECAUSE WE BLACK FOLK IS GIVEN WHITE PEOPLE TOO MANY PASSES!!!LOL ITS TOO COMERCIAL NOW. WAY 2 COMMERCIAL.real talk
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Comment by jamal on September 12, 2008 at 10:06pm - bring back freestyle friday get rid of roxy in teerance bring bet uncut
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Comment by ShutTheFuckUp on September 12, 2008 at 9:53pm - BET is fallin off anyway..
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Comment by IceCold on September 12, 2008 at 8:15pm - BET SO WACK NOW... ALL U SEE ON THERE IZ WEAK AZ NIGGAZ DANCIN AND SHIT... G-UNIT SHOULD HOST 106TH AND PARK.. AND HAV GUCCI MANE HOST RAP CITY THEN ID WATCH BET AGAIN
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