Washington’s “chocolate city” moniker continues to fade.
Five months after Black Entertainment Television CEO Debra Lee put her D.C. home on the market, The Hollywood Reporter breaks news that BET’s longtime headquarters in Brentwood is closing up shop as well.
Lee told staffers in memos this week that the cable network’s central operations are moving to Viacom’s new hub in New York, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The D.C. office is slated to shutter on July 7.
Former CEO Bob Johnson launched BET in the District in 1980. After becoming the top black-focused cable network in the country, Johnson sold it for more than $2.3 billion in stock to Viacom two decades later.
The closure of the D.C. office impacts about 20 full-time salaried staffers and 40 freelancers, who don’t know yet if they’ll transition to New York or Los Angeles or lose their jobs with the company, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Lee originally put her mansion in Massachusetts Heights on the market in December for $13.5 million. But she re-listed the home for $11.5 million earlier this year. It’s still up for sale.