Black Entertainment Television (BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting Black American audiences. It is currently owned by the BET Networks subsidiary of Paramount Global's CBS Entertainment Group. Originally launched as a program block on January 25, 1980, BET would eventually become a full-fledged channel on July 1, 1983.
Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County is an American reality television series that originally aired on MTV from September 28, 2004, until November 15, 2006. The series aired for three seasons and was primarily focused on the personal lives of several students attending Laguna Beach High School. Its premise was originated with Liz Gateley, while Tony DiSanto served as the executive producer.
Jana Eve Bennett was an American-born British media consultant; member of the board of the British Library; member of the board of the Headlong Theatre Company. Previously she was President and General Manager of History, and H2 at A+E Networks in New York City. She joined A+E Networks in June 2013 as President of The Biography Channel and Lifetime Movie Network. Bio was rebranded as FYI in July 2014.
Fred Graver is an American television comedy writer, producer, and network executive. Most recently he's been the Creative Lead, TV @Twitter and Senior Vice President, Digital & Social for Discovery Communications.
Disney General Entertainment Content (DGEC), formerly Capital Cities/ABC,ABC Group, Disney–ABC Television Group and the second incarnation of Walt Disney Television, is part of Disney Entertainment, a division of The Walt Disney Company that oversees its owned-and-operated television content, assets and sub-divisions.
Kevin Metheny was an American radio and cable network executive who began his career as on-air talent and went on to direct programming and audience research at many radio stations and in a number of broadcast conglomerates. During the 1980s, Metheny helped develop cable entertainment networks MTV and VH1 as vice-president in charge of Music Programming and Production; he later served as vice-president of VH1 before returning to broadcast radio. Metheny received fame for his reputation as the nemesis of Howard Stern, earning him the nickname “Pig Virus."
Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution (DMED), formerly Walt Disney Direct-to-Consumer & International (DTCI), was a business segment of the Walt Disney Company that operated from March 14, 2018 until the establishment of its successor, Disney Entertainment on February 8, 2023. It consisted of Disney Streaming and Disney International Operations.
Rose Catherine Pinkney is an American television development executive. She was hired as the VP Development and Original Programming for TV Land in 2012. Pinkney has previously served as Director of Programming at Twentieth Century Fox Television, senior vice president of comedy development at Paramount Pictures Television and executive vice president of programming and production at TV One. She most recently served as the head of the television arm of Laurence Fishburne's production company, Cinema Gypsy. Among Pinkney's accolades are Network Journal's 25 Most Influential Black Women in Business, Cable World's Top 50 Women in Cable and Black Enterprise's Top 50 Entertainment Executives.
Howard Thomas Owens is an American media executive who is founder and Co-CEO of Propagate Content.
John Sykes is an American entertainment executive and the President of Entertainment Enterprises for iHeartMedia since 2011. As of January 2020, he is now also the Chairman of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation. Sykes was a co-founder of MTV and throughout his career has held leadership positions including President, VH1; President, Chrysalis Records – North America; Executive Vice President, Artist Acquisitions, EMI Music Publishing; and Chairman and CEO, Infinity Broadcasting Corporation.
Mark Shapiro is an American television and media executive. In 2018, he was promoted to become the president of Endeavor, after working as the co-president of WME-IMG since 2016. He was executive vice president for programming and production at ESPN until 2005, before becoming CEO and president of Six Flags, Inc. Shapiro has also been the CEO and executive producer of Dick Clark Productions.
Robert Sorcher is an American television executive producer for Warner Bros. Television Group. Sorcher was formerly executive vice president and global chief content officer at Cartoon Network, starting his job in 2008, and promoted in 2013. He was a producer for We Bare Bears, Adventure Time, Clarence, Regular Show, Steven Universe, Over the Garden Wall, The Powerpuff Girls and Ben 10. As chief content officer, he was responsible for original content development for Cartoon Network and Cartoon Network Studios. Sorcher previously worked at AMC Network where he introduced scripted originals to the channel, including the Emmy award winning Broken Trail and the Peabody Award winning series; Mad Men and Breaking Bad.
Eric Wong, born in New York City, is the president and CMO of recorded music for Warner Music Group.
Robert Marc Bakish is an American business executive. He became the president and CEO of Paramount Global on December 4, 2019, formerly holding the same position at Viacom before the merger with CBS Corporation. He stepped down on April 29, 2024.
Lisa Ellis is an American businessperson and financier. Starting her career in management roles at the Pepsi-Cola Company, Reebok International, and Sony Music's Columbia Records, in 2003 she became Sony Music's vice president of strategic marketing and music licensing. She became president of Sony Urban Music in 2005 and executive vice president of Sony Music Label Group in 2006. She then became an operating partner at the investment firm Fireman Capital Partners in 2009, also serving on the board of directors for several Fireman portfolio companies. Ellis currently operates Box Three Eight Eight Management and is the managing partner of Provenance Ventures, a holding company for Provenance Media and Provenance Films. From 2006 until 2009 she was named to Billboard's “Most Powerful [20] Women In Music” list, ranking 3 in 2006 and 2007.
Kathryn Ann Busby is an American film executive, who has been senior vice president of development at Sony Pictures Television Networks (SPT), executive vice president of TriStar Television, and most recently President of Original Programming at Starz, announced in November 2021. Sometimes credited as Kathy Busby, she is also a film producer. She was elected chair of the board of directors of BAFTA Los Angeles as of 2019, and in January 2022 was announced as chair of BAFTA's inaugural North America Board, in which role she was succeeded by Joyce Pierpoline in 2024.
Nina L. Díaz is an executive at Viacom. She currently serves as the President of Programming and Development for VH1, MTV, and Logo Group.
Amy Entelis is the Executive Vice President for Talent and Content Development for CNN Worldwide. She leads the development, production, and acquisition of original, long-form premium content for the network. Entelis is the senior talent executive at CNN and is responsible for the recruitment and development of all on-air correspondents, anchors, and contributors for CNN programming and global platforms.
