Johnson, Robert L. 1946–

International Directory of Business Biographies, (2005) by Tiffeni Fontno

Robert L. Johnson 1946–

Chief executive officer, Black Entertainment Television

Nationality: American.

Born: April 8, 1946, in Hickory, Mississippi.

Education: University of Illinois, BA, 1968; Princeton University, MPA, 1972.

Family: Son of Archie (timber seller) and Edna (teacher) Johnson; married Sheila Crump; children: two.

Career: Corporation for Public Broadcasting, public affairs officer; National Urban League, Washington office, director of communication; Sterling Tucker, press aide; Walter E. Fauntroy, 1973, press secretary; National Cable Television Association, 1976, vice president for governmental relations; Black Entertainment Television, 1980–, chief executive officer; Charlotte Bobcats, 2002–, owner.

Awards: Image Award, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, 1982; Trumpet Award, Turner Broadcasting, 1993; President's Award, National Cable Television Association, 1982; Pioneering Award, Capital Press Club, 1984; Business of the Year Award, Washington, D.C., Chamber of Commerce, 1985; Executive Leadership Council Award, 1992; Broadcasting & Cable , Hall of Fame Award, 1997; 20/20 Vision Award, Cablevision magazine.

Address: BET Holdings, 1232 31st Street NW, Washington, DC 20007; http://www.bet.com.

■ Robert L. Johnson founded Black Entertainment Television (BET), the first U.S. television network aimed at African American audiences. Starting in 1979 with a $15,000 loan, Johnson turned BET into one of the richest franchises in the cable industry. BET was the first company controlled by African Americans to sell shares on the New York Stock Exchange, and Johnson was the first African American majority owner of a sports franchise.

Robert L. Johnson. AP/Wide World Photos .

BEGINNING OF A MEDIA ENTREPRENEUR

After completing his studies at Princeton, Johnson worked primarily in the field of communication media. He had jobs as a public affairs officer for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, director of communications for the Washington, D.C., office of the National Urban League, press aide to Sterling Tucker, the Washington, D.C., councilman, and press secretary to Walter E. Fauntroy, the congressional delegate from the District of Columbia.

In 1976 Johnson was named vice president of governmental relations for the National Cable Television Association, a trade organization that represents cable television companies. As a lobbyist Johnson escorted an aspiring cable entrepreneur, Ken Silverman, to the office of Claude Pepper, the congressman from Florida, who was an advocate for senior citizens. Silverman wanted Pepper's support for his idea of starting a cable channel for older Americans. Johnson realized this concept would work well for African Americans, an underserved market in communication and entertainment media. The programming would focus on African American entertainment, cultural themes, and lifestyles. Johnson approached John Malone, a board member of NCTA and the head of TCI, a cable operator, to invest in his idea. Malone agreed, and on January 25, 1980, BET made its debut on cable television.

THE RISE OF BET

BET began operating a few hours a day. The content was primarily films from the 1940s and 1950s and blaxploitation films. With the advent of MTV, a cable television channel devoted to popular music, music videos had become ingrained into popular culture. In an effort to keep costs low Johnson took advantage of another void, the lack of African American artists appearing on MTV. Johnson formed relationships with record labels to promote on BET videos by rhythm and blues and hip-hop artists. The network also added infomercials, reruns of a gospel show, and African American college football and basketball games. For the first six years BET lost money, and Johnson sought new investors. He recruited Taft Broadcasting Company and Home Box Office. This move provided more money for the channel and increased BET air time to 24 hours a day. In the early 1990s BET turned its first profit.

Johnson established BET Holdings to serve as parent company and decided to offer public stock in BET. On October 30, 1991, BET Holdings became the first African American firm to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange. In 1999, believing the stock to be undervalued, Johnson reversed the decision, making his company private again. BET continued its growth by expanding programming to include BET on Jazz, BET on Jazz International, BET movies, and BET Action pay-per-view. Building on brand identity outside of the cable industry, Johnson capitalized by launching African American publications such as YSB, Emerge, Heart & Soul , and Arabesque Books, a line of African American romance novels written by African American authors. Johnson also made a foray into the restaurant business by opening BET Soundstage and BET on Jazz, which were theme restaurants. In 2001 Johnson made an effort to become the only African American to own a major airline by becoming the owner of D.C. Air. His plans were halted when the U.S. Department of Justice threatened to sue to stop the deal over antitrust concerns.