BET, Viacom Inc.’s cable network devoted to programming aimed at African-American audiences, named chief operating officer Debra Lee as chief executive, succeeding founder and current CEO Robert Johnson, who plans to retire. Lee is CEO effective immediately and will succeed Johnson as chairman when he retires, expected by January.
BET is distributed to 80 million homes in the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean, according to the company.
Johnson founded the company in 1980. Lee joined BET as vice president and general counsel in 1986. She was named president and COO in March 1996