 | |
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Africa Middle East South Korea France |
| Network | BET |
| Headquarters | London,United Kingdom |
| Programming | |
| Languages | English Arabic Korean French |
| Picture format | 16:91080iHDTV |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Paramount International Networks |
| History | |
| Launched | 27 February 2008; 17 years ago (2008-02-27) 1 December 2015; 9 years ago (2015-12-01) (South Africa) |
| Closed | 8 April 2021; 4 years ago (2021-04-08) (UK & Ireland) 31 December 2025; 41 days' time (2025-12-31) (South Africa) |
| Links | |
| Website | www.betafrica.tv |
| Availability | |
| Terrestrial | |
| GOtv (Sub-Saharan Africa) | Channel 21 |
| DStv (Sub-Saharan Africa) | Channel 129 |
BET International (Black Entertainment Television) is an internationaltelevision channel centred towards black culture. It is available in Africa, along with the Middle East/North Africa region. It was launched on 28 February 2008 in the UK and on 1 December 2015[1] with headquarters inLondon. BET broadcast content from the mainBlack Entertainment Television channel in theUS. No UK-originated content was ever produced for the channel.[2][3]
BET International Inc. was given a licence to broadcast in theUK in May 2007 byOfcom. In 2006 it was announced thatBET would hold its first annual Hip-Hop Awards and as part of the announcement they also stated there would be a "Best UK Artist" category, the winner beingSway.[4]
BET launched on the Sky platform in the UK on 27 February 2008, one day earlier than it originally advertised. It began with various BET content, such as106 & Park,American Gangster andCollege Hill. The channel is available on Sky Channel 194. The channel launched onFreesat in August 2008 on Channel 140. BET +1 was added to Freesat when it launched in late 2008.[5] These signals are also available for free in the rest ofEurope via satelliteEutelsat 28A. At the start of July 2009, a temporary HD event channel for theBET Awards 2009 was carried byFreesat.[6]
BET Africa was available in Kenya on Zuku TV on Channel 125[7] and on StarTimes on Channel 132.[8]
The channel was available on the Pan-African satellite broadcasterDStv on Channel 135 until 2 April 2015 when it was replaced with a domestic BET feed, which includes local shows alongside BET International's programming.
BET International was removed fromStarSat in South Africa, andStarTimes across Africa on 30 November 2015.
On 4 November 2014, BET +1 closed, and was replaced by5* +1 on Sky.
In 2018, BET Africa was added to GOtv Channel 21.
On 5 May 2020, BET was removed from Freesat.
It was announced on 30 March 2021 that BET would shut down as a linear TV channel on 8 April 2021 in the UK & Ireland. BET International's content was disbursed among theMy5 andPluto TV streaming services, and will also be carried onParamount+ upon its 2022 pan-European launch.[9] The channel still broadcasts in Africa as of October 2022.
On 22 July 2025, it was reported that Paramount Global was looking to close it's African offices with channels likeMTV Base and BET Africa shutting down.[10][11]
The network aired most of the programming originated and produced by the American BET network, along with select programmes fromMTV andVH1. It also carried acquired Black-focused American and British sitcoms which originally aired on terrestrial networks in both countries.