The 'BET AWARDS '10 Remains The #1 Cable Awards Show, Drawing 7.4 Million Total Viewers

NEW YORK, June 28 /PRNewswire/ -- The live premiere of the BET AWARDS '10 on Sunday, June 27, drew 7.4 Million Total Viewers, making it the #1 cable awards show among adults 18-49 for the fifth consecutive year. (NMR, Live + Same Day, 6/27). This year's show, which aired from 8:00-11:30 p.m.,* marked the tenth anniversary of the BET AWARDS and featured a moving tribute to Michael Jackson where Chris Brown channeled the King of Pop while dancing to a montage of his classics like "The Way You make Me Feel," "Remember The Time," "Billie Jean," "Smooth Criminal," and then broke down to tears singing "Man In The Mirror." Kanye West and T.I. each made their return to the stage with powerful performances that also tore down the house.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070716/BETNETWORKSLOGO )

"For 10 years, the BET AWARDS has always been about showcasing the best of entertainment, and last night we delivered," said Stephen Hill, President of Music Programming and Specials at BET Networks.  "The number of viewers who tuned in to see the BET AWARDS '10 is a testament to the all-star performances, artists and their music's influence on our culture."

The BET AWARDS '10 also stands as BET's #2 telecast of all time behind last year's record setting awards show. In addition, the BET RED CARPET SHOW was the #2 red carpet program and drew in 2.5 million total viewers, while the BET AWARDS '10 POST SHOW, also the #2 post show behind last year's performance, garnered 4 million total viewers. All shows enjoyed at least double-digit time slot gains versus CY and STD.

Also at this year's show, BET launched the AOL Fandemonium Award, a contest where fans utilized mobile and social networking platforms to vote for their favorite artist. During the two week challenge, fans submitted the largest number of mobile votes ever seen for a mobile campaign and also interacted on Twitter and Facebook. For the 2010 Viewer's Choice Award voting, where fans select the winner of the Viewer's Choice category, it was the second highest mobile voting campaign ever, behind this year's 2010 Fandemonium Award, and resulted in new records both online and on mobile.

Encore telecasts of the BET AWARDS '10 are set for:

• Tuesday, June 29 from 6:30-10:00 p.m. followed by TREY SONGZ: MY MOMENT premiere at 10:00 p.m.*
• Friday, July 2 from 7:30 -11:00 p.m.*
• Monday, July 5 from 8:00 – 11:00 p.m.*

BET once again teamed with Cossette Productions, the famed producers of the GRAMMY Awards® and the eight record-setting BET AWARDS shows, to handle production of the telecast. Stephen Hill, President, Music Programming and Specials, BET Networks, along with Lynne Harris-Taylor, Vice President of Specials, BET Networks, were executive producers of the telecast.

BET AWARDS '10 was sponsored by Starbucks, Procter & Gamble's My Black Is Beautiful, Ford Fiesta, Coca-Cola, Kmart and Sprint.

For a list of winners from the BET AWARDS '10, please visit www.bet.com/pr. Visit BET.com for BET On Blast video highlights, photos and news from the BET AWARDS '10 at www.bet.com/betawards. Get up-to-the-minute reactions about the BET AWARDS '10 by following @BETAwards on Twitter (www.twitter.com).

*All times ET/PT

About BET Networks

BET Networks, a division of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), is the nation's leading provider of quality entertainment, music, news and public affairs television programming for the African-American audience. The primary BET channel reaches more than 98 million households and can be seen in the United States , Canada , the Caribbean, the United Kingdom and sub-Saharan Africa . BET is the dominant African-American consumer brand with a diverse group of businesses extensions: BET.com, a leading Internet destination for Black entertainment, music, culture, and news; BET Digital Networks - BET J, BET Gospel and BET Hip Hop, attractive alternatives for cutting-edge entertainment tastes; BET Home Entertainment, a collection of BET-branded offerings for the home environment including DVDs and video-on-demand; BET Mobile, which provides ringtones, games and video content for wireless devices; and BET International, which operates BET in the United Kingdom and oversees the extension of BET network programming for global distribution.

SOURCE BET Networks

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