Fine Tuning a New Act

Newsweek, February, 2005 by Johnnie L. Roberts

TV has stretched the "makeover" genre of shows from humans to houses to entire towns. Now the Black Entertainment Television network is going a step further: making over itself. In January it unveiled a new tagline, "It's my thing," after jettisoning "Black star power." It refashioned its familiar star logo and installed a sleek new set for "106

As BET begins a yearlong celebration of its silver anniversary, it also is searching for a second act. Until recently it had little reason to change much. It reaches almost 80 million homes and has minted profits from its low-budget lineup of music videos, stand-up comedy and other fare catering to an African-American audience--a niche it's had to itself for 25 years. Yet that lucrative strategy now looks vulnerable. A new threat to...

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