Robert L. Johnson, founder/chairman/CEO of Black Entertainment Television (BET) and majority owner of the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats, on leading talented people

Abstract

Executive Overview Robert L. Johnson is the founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Black Entertainment Television (BET), a subsidiary of Viacom and the leading African-American owned and operated media and entertainment company in the United States. With the mission of establishing BET as the most-valued consumer brand within the black marketplace, BET has enjoyed extraordinary financial and strategic success since its inception in 1980. As the majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats of the National Basketball Association and the Charlotte Sting of the Women's National Basketball Association, Johnson is the first African-American to be majority owner of a major professional sports franchise in the U.S. From 1976 to 1979, Johnson served as vice president of government relations for the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA), a trade association representing more than 1,500 cable television companies. Prior to joining the NCTA, Johnson was press secretary for the Honorable Walter E. Fauntroy, Congressional Delegate from the District of Columbia. Johnson previously held positions at the Washington Urban League and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Johnson serves on the following boards: US Airways, Hilton Hotels Corporation, General Mills, United Negro College Fund, National Cable Television Association, and the American Film Institute. Johnson is also a member of the board of governors for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, and the Brookings Institute. Major awards received by Johnson include: 1997 Broadcasting & Cable Magazine's Hall of Fame Award; CTAM's Grand Tarn Award; Cablevision Magazine's 20/20 Vision Award which lists him as one of the twenty most influential people in the cable industry; an NAACP Image Award; National Women's Political Caucus' Good Guys Award; a Distinguished Alumni Award from Princeton University; and the President's Award from the National Cable & Telecommunications Association. Johnson is a graduate of the University of Illinois and holds a master's in International Affairs from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. The core BET Network has pioneered an entire genre in television. Its 24-hour programming that targets African-American consumers now reaches more than 65 million U.S. homes and more than 90 per cent of all black cable households. That same groundbreaking strategy has evolved into leading-edge digital cable technology via such channels as BET On Jazz, BET International, BET Classic Soul, BET Hip-Hop, BET Gospel, and others. In 1998 Johnson established BET Pictures and BET Arabesque Films to produce and market African-American themed film releases, documentaries, and made-for-TV movies. BET has also leveraged its brand identity into new businesses outside the cable industry with direct ownership of BET Arabesque Books, the only line of original African-American romance novels written by African-American authors. Other BET ventures include BET Interactive, whose Internet portal BET.com was voted “Best African American Community Site 2001” by Yahoo! Internet Life magazine. BET Interactive provides a combination of online content and community tailored to the unique interests, preferences, and issues of African-Americans aged 18–49. BET Interactive is owned in partnership by BET, Microsoft, Liberty Digital Media, News Corporation, and USA Networks.