 | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Nationwide |
| Headquarters | New York City, New York |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Picture format | 480i (SDTV) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Paramount Skydance Corporation |
| Parent | BET Media Group (CBS Entertainment Group) |
| Sister channels | List
|
| History | |
| Launched | August 1, 1998; 27 years ago (1998-08-01) |
| Replaced by | VH1 Soul |
| Former names | VH1 Soul (1998-2015) |
| Links | |
| Website | BET Soul[dead link] |
| Availability | |
| Streaming media | |
| Service(s) | FuboTV |
BET Soul (formerlyVH1 Soul) is an Americanpay televisionnetwork that first launched on August 1, 1998, and is currently owned byParamount Skydance Corporation'sBET Media Group. The channel showcases Caribbean, African,R&B,funk,soul,neo soul,hip hop,jazz andMotown music in various decades from the 1970s to the 2020s.
Soul was originally a commercial-free service, along with sister channelVH1 Smooth, and part of the "MTV Digital Suite" ofdigital cable channels (which was sold only to cable providers to give them an advantage over satellite services). The first video shown on the channel was "Boogie Wonderland" byEarth, Wind & Fire.[1]
On December 28, 2015 (after MTV Jams' rebrand as BET Jams), VH1 Soul transferred toBET Networks and subsequently rebranded asBET Soul, becoming a sister channel toBET (the network itself removed music videos after the end of106 & Park the prior year).[2] The move was part of a series of programming and management shifts within then-parent companyViacom.[3] In 2019, the legacy assets of Viacom andCBS Corporation reunited ina merger between the two companies that formed ViacomCBS (later rebranded asParamount Global, and nowParamount Skydance Corporation, following the acquisition of Paramount bySkydance Media).
On November 9, 2022, oversight ofVH1 would transfer to BET Media Group. The move reunited two networks, while also splitting them from MTV and its other formerly-branded sibling channels (VH1 Classic andVH1 Country).[4]