Viacom (MTV, BET, VH1, Comedy Central) comes out against 'religious liberty' bill

By RODNEY HO/ rho@ajc.com, originally filed Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Viacom, the huge broadcast company - which owns MTV, VH1, BET, Comedy Central, among others - this evening joined the growing chorus of media behemoths asking Gov. Nathan Deal to veto the "religious liberty" bill.

The company's statement:

"Viacom is proud to champion diversity and acceptance, which are core values of our company. We have enjoyed doing business in Georgia for many years and we urge Governor Deal to continue to resist and reject the patently discriminatory laws being proposed."

AMC Networks and the Motion Picture Association of America have also publicly come out against the bill.

Disney/Marvel has been the strongest opponent, earlier today explicitly saying it would pull out of the state if Deal didn't veto it. (Read my story from earlier today here focused on Disney/Marvel.)

Viacom has been very active in Georgia on the television production side. BET has shot many shows here, including "Being Mary Jane," "The Game" and "Sunday Best" as well as the BET Hip Hop Awards. VH1 has used Atlanta as a backdrop for "Single Ladies," "Love and Hip Hop Atlanta" and "T.I. & Tiny: The Family Hustle" and plans to start production of a new scripted series created by Star Jones called "Satan's Sisters." MTV has shot two dramas here: "Teen Wolf" for three seasons and "Finding Carter" for two.

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