BET Plus: Everything we know about the streaming service

With premium online video streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video continuing to add to their subscriber counts, more and more media outlets are launching online-only spinoffs. The BET cable network is no different, and in 2019, it launched its own service called BET Plus. But what can you expect when you sign up for the service? Here’s everything we know so far about BET Plus.

Read more: Best video streaming services

You can sign up for the service at the link below.

What is BET Plus?

BET Plus is a premium streaming service made primarily for and about Black Americans. It comes from the BET (Black Entertainment Television) cable TV network, which itself is owned by ViacomCBS, which also operates Paramount Plus.

Read more: Paramount Plus: Everything you need to know

BET Plus is also getting support from Tyler Perry Studios, the movie and TV production company founded by Tyler Perry, who has written, directed and/or created a host of popular movies and TV shows for the past 15 years. These include Diary of a Mad Black Woman, Why Did I Get Married, and The Haves and Have Nots, among others.

When did BET Plus launch?

BET Plus launched on Thursday, September 19, 2019, in the US.

Where is BET Plus available?

At the moment, the service is only available in the US.

How many users does the service have?

In February 2021, 18 months after the launch, BET president Scott Mills reported that BET Plus had reached 1.5 million subscribers during a Paramount Plus unveiling event.

That was up from the 1 million subscribers reported just half a year earlier.

How much does the service cost?

BET Plus costs $9.99 a month. It’s also commercial-free, so it is not supported by ads. 

You can also save 20% by opting for an annual subscription plan for BET Plus, priced at $94.99 a year.

Can I watch BET Plus for free?

Yes! You can sign up for the service and watch it free for the first seven days. You can cancel the service before the free trial ends and not have your credit card charged.

Is BET Plus worth it?

If you are a fan of Tyler Perry, especially his earlier Madea work, then BET Plus is something you should check out. The collection of his filmed staged plays, including his final play, are entertaining to watch, and fascinating to check out now that he has become a massive entertainment mogul.

The service also has a small but growing amount of original programming, so overall the price might be worth it if you are interested in this material.

What platforms and devices are available for the service?

BET Plus is now available for Android and iOS mobile devices, along with apps for the Apple TV set-top box. It’s also available on Roku streaming sticks, set-top boxes, and TVs that have the Roku OS installed and the same goes for Amazon Fire TV-based sticks, set-top boxes, and TVs.

It’s also available for Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, and Roku customers via their Channels selection. In addition, you can watch BET Plus on your PC via a web browser at bet.plus.

Finally, you can cast the iOS and Android apps to your AirPlay and/or Chromecast-supported TV.

Other features

BET Plus, in terms of the tech behind the streaming service, is pretty bare-bones at the moment.  The main page shows a curated list of featured movies and TV shows on top, and you can browse through a number of content categories, such as Drama, Comedy, and more. There doesn’t appear to be a limit on how many concurrent streams you can have on one account, and the service’s help section doesn’t mention such a limit. The service streams up to HD resolution, but there’s no indication of any 4K streaming support.

There are also no parental features on the service, but the truth is, most of the content on BET Plus is geared for mature audiences anyway. Unfortunately, the mobile apps don’t provide any support for downloads, so you will have to stay connected to the internet to stream its content.

What can I watch on the service?

BET Plus has over 1,000 hours of content from the BET network, including its original TV shows, movies, and specials, along with its acquired older movies and TV series.  This library of shows and movies includes Real Husbands of Hollywood, The New Edition Story, The Quad, College Hill, Comic View, and Hell Date. BET says most of these shows and movies have never been previously made available on current streaming services, so subscribers should have a lot of content to stream that hasn’t been made available online before.

In addition, a selection of movies produced and directed by Tyler Perry are available to stream from BET Plus. They will include movies from Perry’s hit Madea film series. Also, for the first time on a streaming service, BET Plus subscribers can stream a selection of Perry’s stage plays, such as Meet the Browns, Daddy’s Little Girls, Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor, and more.

A number of TV shows from BET’s sister Viacom-based cable networks will also be streamed on the service, including VH1’s Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta, Basketball Wives, and T.I. & Tiny: The Family Hustle, Comedy Central’s Why? With Hannibal Buress, MTV’s Todrick, TV Land’s Soul Man, Nick @ Night’s Instant Mom, and more. BET Plus is also the exclusive streaming home of the classic Fox comedy series Martin.

BET Plus – Exclusive original TV shows and movies

In addition to access to the large library of the movies and shows on the BET cable network, BET Plus features exclusive original movies and shows that are only available on the streaming service.

Comedy

• First Wives Club – An African American reboot of the classic 1996 movie comedy about three divorced women who seek revenge on their former husbands, who left them for younger women.
• Bigger – The half-hour comedy, set in Atlanta, centers on a woman who is about to marry her boyfriend, but who then has to deal with the sudden death of a college acquaintance.
• Bruh – This Tyler Perry-created dramedy follows four long-time male friends as they navigate through their lives and support each other. The second season of the show will debut on September 10.
• Kiss Me for Christmas – A Christmas-themed original movie about a woman who has a one-night romantic experience with a man. Later she finds out he’s dating her horrible boss.
• The Rich and the Ruthless – A satire that goes behind the scenes of a fictional daytime TV serial. The fourth season is exclusive to BET Plus.
• Ms Pat – This sitcom was originally going to be on Hulu, but it’s now a BET Plus exclusive. The show stars comedian Patricia “Ms. Pat” Williams. She will play a fictional version of herself, a former convicted felon who now lives in Atlanta. She is now a suburban housewife having to deal with more typical family problems. 
• Upcoming: Birth of Cool –  A dramedy that centers on the activities of a fictional predominately Black high school.

Drama

• Sacrifice – Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol actor Paula Patton stars in this BET Plus original movie. She plays a high-end Los Angeles entertainment lawyer.
• Influence – Another original movie, which tells the story of a well-known female singer who is charged with murdering her husband.
• Ruthless – The first Tyler Perry-created original BET Plus show. It is a one-hour spinoff of the BET series The Oval. It centers on a woman who becomes involved in a sex cult. 
• Dark Money – A four-episode series about a family who takes money from a famous Hollywood producer to keep them quiet about his abuse of the family’s child.
• Diggstown – This six-episode series centers on a woman who was a high-powered corporate attorney. However, after a family tragedy, she makes a big change in her life.
• The Family Business – Season 2 of the crime drama is now streaming on BET Plus after season 1 debuted on the BET cable network.
• Trigger – A new original movie about a criminal who gets out of prison and goes to visit his brother and his wife at their home. Things quickly turn bad.
• Troubled Waters – A married comedian who is becoming more popular puts all that in jeopardy when he has an affair with a younger woman.
• Never and Again – An original movie about a couple who got together as teenagers and were then pulled apart by tragedy. Years later, can they rekindle their teen romance?
• Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Farewell Play – BET Plus is the exclusive streaming home for the filmed stage play Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Farewell Play.  This will likely be the final appearance of Tyler Perry playing his well-known character Madea. The play itself also features other characters from Perry’s Madea films and plays as they come together for a family gathering.
• American Skin – A movie about a black man who sees his son shot and killed by a white police officer. The father decides to his own trial of the cop.
• A Luv Tale – A drama about four queer black women who live and work in New York City’s Harlam neighborhood.
• All The Queen’s Men – A new series centering on a fictional exotic male dancer club. It’s due later this fall.
• Favorite Son – A movie about two brothers who form a gospel music group

Unscripted

• American Gangster: Trap Queens – An unscripted series that tells the stories of the biggest female gangsters in the history of the US.
• All the Way Black – This series takes a comedic look at black culture themes from the 70s, 80s, and 90s.

BET Plus alternatives

There are a few outlets that offer programming similar to BET Plus. Let’s check them out now:

ALLBLK

Formerly known as the Urban Movie Channel, ALLBLK is the closest thing to a true rival for BET Plus. It also offers a mix of older and more recent movies and TV shows directly aimed at the black audience. It also has a growing number of original scripted and non-scripted programming as well.

Paramount Plus

The parent company of BET Plus, ViacomCBS recently relaunched CBS All Access to Paramount Plus. It has a number of shows and movies from the BET cable network but lacks the originals from BET Plus. However, it does have a ton of other content from ViacomCBS’s other television properties, along with live sports and Paramount movie releases.

Netflix

The biggest of all the streaming services, Netflix has a growing number of older and new movies and shows for a Black audience. It also has quite a few exclusive, and highly acclaimed, movies and shows for that same audience, including two original Madea films from Tyler Perry, Dear White People, Self Made, #blackAF, Da 5 Bloods, and more.

Other FAQs

That’s all we know about BET Plus at this point. It will be interesting to see if this service will gain traction, especially for its intended audience. We will update this post as more information about this streaming service is announced.