Paramount Buys Out Tyler Perry’s Stake in BET+, Merging Streamer into Paramount+
The great streaming consolidation of the 2020s continues, and this time, it’s moving a massive library of Black storytelling under a much larger umbrella. Paramount has officially bought out Tyler Perry’s equity stake in BET+ and announced plans to fold the standalone streaming service into Paramount+ starting in June 2026.
If you’re a fan of Perry’s prolific catalog or BET’s hit original series, here is everything you need to know about the buyout and what it means for your next binge-watch.
Since the launch of BET+ in 2019, Tyler Perry Studios has held a 25% equity stake in the platform, helping build it into a premium digital destination for Black culture. While official financial terms of the buyout haven’t been disclosed, industry insiders estimate Perry’s stake was valued in the tens of millions of dollars.
But don’t worry, Perry isn’t going anywhere. This buyout doesn’t disrupt the billionaire media mogul’s current multi-million-dollar overall deal with BET Media Group. That agreement, signed in 2024 and set to run through 2028, ensures Perry will continue writing, directing, and producing his signature content for the network.
A Paramount spokesperson confirmed that Perry will remain a “valued and important partner” as they transition.
When the standalone BET+ app shuts down this summer, its entire library, totaling more than 1,000 hours of content, will migrate over to Paramount+. Viewers will be able to find their favorite shows easily inside a newly dedicated “BET Hub.”
Fans can still access Perry’s heavy-hitters like Sistas, The Oval, Ruthless, Zatima, and All the Queen’s Men. The move also includes BET+ originals unaffiliated with Perry, such as The Ms. Pat Show, Average Joe, and Diarra from Detroit.
In an internal memo to staff, BET Networks President Louis Carr noted that the move is about maximizing visibility.
“Beginning in June, we are expanding our reach by making Paramount+ the new home for BET+ content,” Carr wrote. “This powerful next step ensures the stories we champion, the creators we support, and the culture we represent go further than ever before.” Carr also confirmed that BET’s linear cable channel, BET Digital, and BET Studios will all remain fully active.
If you are one of the estimated 3.5 million current BET+ subscribers, you will soon have to make the jump to Paramount+. To ease the transition, Paramount plans to offer a discounted rate to current BET+ direct-app subscribers when the service is officially sunsetted.
This move is the latest step in Paramount’s broader strategy to clean up its app ecosystem and achieve profitability in the streaming wars. Under the new leadership of Skydance Media CEO David Ellison (who took the reins after Skydance acquired Paramount in 2025), the company is working to consolidate its platforms, Paramount+, Pluto TV, and BET+—onto a single unified tech infrastructure.
It’s a familiar playbook for Paramount, which successfully folded Showtime into Paramount+ back in 2023. By eliminating the costs of running a niche standalone app, Paramount aims to generate massive cost savings while simultaneously beefing up its flagship streamer.
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