Black Media: BET names Jerry Leo executive vice president of programming strategy
News // Black Media // EEW Magazine Online
Jerry Leo joins BET family as Executive Vice President of Programming Strategy
The BET Media Group, the world’s largest media company dedicated to empowering the Black community and championing Black culture, announced that Jerry Leo has joined the company as Executive Vice President of Programming Strategy, reporting to BET President and CEO, Scott Mills.
In this role, Leo will drive the overall program scheduling strategy and operations for the BET Media Groups’ portfolio of linear networks, including BET, BET Her and VH1. Leo will work closely with BET’s content and marketing leadership teams to develop and optimize roll-out plans and launch schedules for all series, specials, and tentpoles.
“Jerry’s proven expertise in strategic programming paired with our premium content makes him a great match for the BET Media Group,” said Mills. “We’re excited to welcome Jerry to our team and look forward to leveraging his insights to power the continued growth of the BET ecosystem.”
Scott Mills, BET president and CEO. ViacomCBS
Leo is a veteran top-performing executive with a proven track record in linear and multi-platform/AVOD programming strategy and acquisitions. Before joining BET Media Group, Leo was the Chief Content Officer at Canela Media, overseeing programming, production, and acquisitions across the brand’s AVOD platforms, including Canela TV and Canela Kids.
Before Canela, Leo was Executive Vice President, Program Strategy & Production, serving over 14 years at Bravo Media. He was instrumental in Bravo’s growth from a 28th-ranked network to its ranking as the #4 cable network among P18-49 and P25-54 and #1 among female viewers in all demos, expanding the network’s slate to 50 original series.
Leo strategically programmed several hit series, including the Real Housewives franchise, “Project Runway,” “Below Deck,” “Married to Medicine,” “Vanderpump Rules,” Emmy-winning “Top Chef,” and more. Earlier in his career, he worked as the Vice President of Program Planning at VH1 and worked at Oxygen, NBC, E! and MTV.
“This is an exciting time to be a part of the dynamic team at the BET Media Group,” said Leo. “I’m honored for the opportunity and look forward to working alongside such a talented group to further the growth of BET’s business platforms.”
The BET Media Group connects Black audiences through a portfolio of brands including BET, BET+, BET Gospel, BET HER, BET International, BET Jams, BET Soul, BET Studios, and VH1. BET Media Group is a thriving media ecosystem of leading interconnected platforms across cable TV, streaming, digital, studios, live events, and international.