According to a report in the WSJ, Viacom is planning to launch a premium streaming service called BET+ this fall. While there were few details on the pricing of the service, Viacom currently charges $3-6 for their other premium streaming services — Noggin, Comedy Central Now, and MTV Hits.
The service will be targeted at African-American audiences with original shows and movies created by Tyler Perry, who already has a production deal with Viacom. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the service will include a series based on First Wives Club and comedy *Peachtree Place. Similar to CBS All Access & CBS, shows that air on BET+ would be exclusive to the service for at least 18 months, but the content could end up on BET’s linear channel after that.
Tyler Perry will announce the streaming service on June 23rd in conjunction with the BET Awards. At launch, it is expected to be available on Apple TV, Roku, Fire TV, iOS, and Android devices.
In January, Viacom acquired Pluto TV, a free ad-supported streaming service, for $340 million. Since, the company has doubled-down on their streaming efforts.
They launched their traditional linear networks on fuboTV and DIRECTV NOW like BET, Comedy Central, & MTV in April. Then in May, they launched 14 linear channels on Pluto TV with classic content from Comedy Central, MTV and Nickelodeon. Just last week, they announced they will be launching a spanish-language version of Pluto TV on July 1st.