Johnson, Robert L. 1946(?)–

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Robert L. Johnson 1946(?)–

Cable television executive

“We want a broad audience, but we never want to forget our mandate: to give black audiences a full range of black entertainment and information,” Robert L. Johnson, the founder and president of Black Entertainment Television (BET), told Christopher C. Williams in the New York Times. Creator of the first and only cable network television to provide solely black programming, Johnson built his nearly $500 million company on a format that featured black music videos as its highlight. He is also seeking to gain a larger share of the market allotted to the major networks.

In addition to videos, black collegiate sports, news, and reruns of the Cosby Show, which comprise most of BET’s format, Johnson is developing more original programming, including late night talk shows, public affairs series, one-act plays, a sports phone-in show, and teen magazine shows as well as live in-studio concerts and soap opera updates. Johnson disclosed to Karen Osborne in Black Enterprise,“TV in the ’90’s is going to involve the viewer. Our goal is to give America’s 21 million blacks the power to make a difference, to be heard and to make things happen by actively participating.”

A Mississippi native, Johnson was educated at the University of Illinois and Princeton University. He was working as an executive for a cable TV trade association and as a cable lobbyist in Washington, D.C., when he borrowed $15,000 to begin BET in 1979. Johnson convinced John Malone, the president of Tele-Communications, Inc., to invest $500,000 in the project. By 1982, Great American Broadcasting had joined the list of investors in BET. Home Box Office (HBO) followed two years later, but Johnson maintained a 52 percent controlling interest in the company. Although he won the bidding rights to wire cable in the Washington, D.C., area in 1984, Johnson became enmeshed in a series of lawsuits filed by competitors. His District Cablevision Inc. was unable to provide the 125,000 homes in the neighborhood access to BET until 1988.

BET’s initial financial struggles came to an end in 1986 when the company broke even. Although he declined to publish financial figures, Johnson noted that BET became profitable in 1987. Rated highly among industry analysts for his executive prowess, Johnson envisioned BET’s media impact approaching that of such companies as Motown and Disney. “[Johnson’s] a very, very gifted

At a Glance…

Born c. 1946, in Hickory, MS; married; wife’s name, Sheila; children: Paige. Education: Attended University of Illinois; received M.A. from Princeton University.

Cable television executive. Worked for Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Washington Urban League, and as a press secretary; National Cable TV Association, vice-president of government relations, 1976-79; Black Entertainment Television (BET), founder, chairman, chief executive, and principal shareholder, 1980—. Board member of Cable TV Advertising Bureau and Black College Educational Network. National Cable Television Association (NCTA), vice-president of government affairs, 1978-79, member of board of directors, 1982-84.

Awards; Presidential Award, NCTA, 1982; Image Award, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), 1982; Pioneer Award, Capitol Press Club, 1984; Business of the Year Award, Washington, DC, Chamber of Commerce, 1985.

Addresses: Office— Black Entertainment Television, 1232 31st St., NW, Washington, DC 20007.

entrepreneur,” Don Anderson, an HBO executive and former head of affiliate marketing for BET, commented in the New York Times. “He’s managing BET more efficiently than networks twice his size.”

In his quest to expand BET in the marketplace, Johnson combatted the problem of racial discrimination in media and advertising. He told Williams that industries “absolutely undervalued the black consumer market.” Another factor that hindered BET’s progress was lack of financial muscle to market the network. A spokesperson for Kagan Associates pointed out in the New York Times in 1989, “There is a poor understanding of exactly what BET is and what it wants to become.” Taking steps to remedy the situation, Johnson signed a million dollar joint advertising pact to begin his marketing campaign with a major network that same year. He explained to Osborne, “ABC [American Broadcasting Company] has an interest in reaching a black audience, and we’re interested in expanding.”

After a decade of growth in 1990, BET programming had increased from two to twenty-four hours each day. Advertising revenues multiplied four times to $29.9 million. Such figures reflected the growth of buying power among blacks whose income rose 40 percent from 1980 to 1990. Discovering that blacks viewed television 50 percent more than the rest of the American public, investors pumped a record-breaking $743 million into creating ads aimed at black buyers. Johnson, who seemed to have an intuitive understanding of the impact of black culture on the public imagination, embodied the black media boom of the 1990s. He scrutinized investors’ frenzied purchase of BET stock, telling a Newsweek correspondent, “It’s incredible how a company with $9 million in earnings in 1991 could leave Wall Street with a market value of $475 million.”

Johnson’s career plans include using the $10 million studio he completed in Washington to film original programs. He has launched African-American interest magazines, including Emerge for young adults and YSB (Young Sisters and Brothers) for adolescents, as well as a radio network. In addition to a collaboration with television pay-per-view promoter Butch Lewis, Johnson was considering a possible partnership with filmmaker Mario Van Peebles, creator of New Jack City. A Newsweek reporter predicted, “As long as black creative energy remains a powerful force in American pop culture, more advertisers will jump on board. And entrepreneurs like Robert Johnson will be driving the train.”