 | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Nationwide |
| Headquarters | New York City, New York |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | English |
| Picture format | 480i (SDTV) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Paramount Global |
| Parent | BET Media Group (CBS Entertainment Group) |
| Sister channels | List |
| History | |
| Launched | August 1, 1998; 26 years ago (1998-08-01) |
| Former names | VH1 Soul (1998-2015) |
| Links | |
| Website | BET Soul[dead link] |
| Availability | |
| Streaming media | |
| FuboTV | Internet Protocol television |
BET Soul (formerlyVH1 Soul) is an Americanpay televisionnetwork that first launched on August 1, 1998, and is currently owned byParamount Global'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 (few months after MTV Jams' rebrand as "BET Jams"), management of the channel was moved toBET Networks. It was subsequently rebranded asBET Soul that same day, and became a sister channel toBET (the network itself removing music videos after the ending of106 & Park last year).[2] The move would be part of a series of programming and management shifts within then-parent companyViacom in the coming years.[3] In 2019, the legacy assets of Viacom andCBS Corporation would be reunited ina merger between the two companies that led to the formation of ViacomCBS, later to be rebranded asParamount Global.
On November 9, 2022, oversight ofVH1 would move to the later-renamed 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]