bet was founded by robert l. johnson on january 25, 1980. the network started out as a two-hour friday night show on the usa network each week. it was on from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. (est). they mostly showed older movies and music videos. in may of that year, bet started showing black collegiate sporting events. in november 1980, bet added two half-hour shows, "black showcase" and "the bobby jones gospel show". on june 26, 1983, bet started showing "video soul", a music video series. on october 1 of the same year, bet started broadcasting 24 hours daily with help from home box office. in the later years, bet has moved from having a variety of black entertainment to mostly showing music videos around the clock.