Nick Exec Peter Danielsen To Head BET Program Planning

BET Networks has tapped former Nickelodeon executive Pete Danielsen as its executive vice president of program planning, scheduling & acquisitions.

Danielsen will head up all aspects of program planning, scheduling and acquisitions for both BET and Centric, according to network officials. Most recently Danielsen was executive vice president of worldwide programming at Viacom Media Networks where he was responsible for 39 Nickelodeon networks in 190 countries.

“Pete is a strong addition to our team and we look forward to his strategic and creative expertise as we expand our programming on BET and Centric with even more new original shows, smart acquisitions and feature films in the coming year,” said Debra L. Lee, Chairman and CEO, BET Networks, to whom Danielsen will report.

BET also announced it has appointed Kay Madati as executive vice president and chief digital officer. A former Facebook executive, Madati, will be responsible for all aspects of digital, social and mobile strategy and oversee operations, content creation, technology and product development across the suite of BET Network’s digital platforms, according to BET. Madati will report to Lee as well.

“Our audience fully embraces technology and lives on multiple screens. We are thrilled to welcome Kay to the team, and look forward to his expertise and strategic leadership in the fast-paced world of digital and social media, as consumers continue to turn to BET to discover what’s hot and what’s next,” said Lee in a statement.

R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.