Effective July 1, BET will modify its programming schedule, dropping infomercials in favor of a broader combination of religious and original network shows. Debra L. Lee, BET President and Chief
Operating Officer, announced the programming changes, saying the decision was made based on feedback and input gathered from viewers by BET's market research unit. The placement of additional gospel
and inspirational programming on BET coincides with BET's scheduled launch of two new digital networks also on July 1 -- BET Gospel and BET Hip Hop. Gospel programming on the main BET network will
serve as a platform to cross-promote the new BET Gospel channel which will feature a mixture of current and vintage shows and original gospel oriented programming. BET hopes to make up for lost
infomercial revenue with advertising.
