BET Networks said Tuesday that it has promoted P. Sean Gupta to SVP, strategy & business operations.

In his new role, Gupta will oversee strategic development and planning operations, including the conception and identification of short and long-term opportunities. Gupta has been with BET for about 4 years, most recently as co-lead of the executive team that conceived, planned and launched the BET + premium streaming service. He also was a member of the team that negotiated and structured the programmer’s joint venture with Tyler Perry Studios.

“Sean brings an incredible energy, passion and perspective to BET’s expansion into new areas of operation,” said BET president Scott Mills in a press release. “His instrumental role in our recent BET+ deal only serves to further illustrate the ways that we lean on Sean’s innovative and collaborative approach to business development. It’s this approach that fortifies Sean’s position as a key player on my leadership team in the continued growth of the BET brand.”

Gupta joined BET’s program planning, scheduling & acquisitions team in 2015. Prior to BET, he led business development and business affairs for the advertising division of Time Warner Cable and worked as an investment banker at Deutsche Bank as well as as a vice president in The Media & Telecom Investment Banking Group. He began his career before business school at Bloomberg and NBC.

“The BET brand continues to be focused on entertaining, engaging, and empowering African Americans, and the vehicles through which we can do that are evolving for our viewers,” Gupta said in a press release. “I couldn’t be more excited and supportive of BET’s renewed mission and purpose in this new era as we continue to expand the platforms that exist for us and our viewers, reaching more lovers of black culture than ever and creating value for our brand.”

BET Networks has named actress Paula Patton to star in new original, legal-themed film Sacrifice, which will debut on the BET Plus streaming service.

The movie stars Patton (Hitch, Mission Impossible) as a sought after entertainment lawyer navigating the nefarious lives of her rich and famous clients. 

The film, which will debut on BET Plus in 2020 as a backdoor pilot for a potential series, will also star Erica Ash, Juan Antonio, V. Bozeman, Altonio Jackson, Nelson Bonilla, Michael Toland, James Trevena Brown, Liliana Montenegro, Marques Houston, and Josué Ramon Gutierrez.

Sacrifice is executive produced, written and directed by Chris Stokes, with Houston also serving as co-executive producer, according to BET.

“We are thrilled to have Paula and the talented ensemble cast join our first original film on BET+, as we continue to strengthen our commitment to quality storytelling while meeting our audience on all platforms,” said Connie Orlando, head of programming for BET Networks.