BET, Viacom seek rerun synergy

In the first major effort at synergy since Viacom Inc. bought Black Entertainment Television in 2001, the cable channel announced Wednesday that it will be the home for reruns of three TV series with primarily African American casts that are currently produced by Viacom’s Paramount unit: “The Parkers,” “Girlfriends” and “Soul Food.”

Reruns of “The Parkers,” a comedy starring Countess Vaughn and Mo’Nique that is now airing on UPN, will begin in the fall, followed by “Girlfriends” (also a UPN series) and “Soul Food” (now seen on Showtime, another Viacom unit) in 2004.

In another example of the cross-promotional efforts available in such media conglomerates, BET said it will rerun 12 “Soul Food” episodes beginning Jan. 21 “as a means of preparing viewers for ‘Soul Food’s’ fourth season on Showtime premiering April 9.”

Noting that BET also had made a deal recently with Oxygen Network to co-produce “Hey Monie,” an animated series about two African American women, BET President Debra Lee said the channel is seeking to diversify its programming. The outlet has been criticized for relying too heavily on hip-hop music videos.

Lee Margulies