BET's Lil' Kim is #1 Original Series on Cable Among Black Households in 2006

BET's Lil' Kim is #1 Original Series on Cable Among Black Households in 2006

Lil' Kim: Countdown to Lock Down Sets New Viewership Mark as Most-Watched Series Debut in BET Network History

WASHINGTON, March 14 /PRNewswire/ -- When it comes to reality programming, there's one simple fact -- when BET builds it, the audience will come. BET again proved this theory correct with a gigantic launch last Thursday of the new reality series LIL' KIM: COUNTDOWN TO LOCKDOWN. Tracking the final 14 days of freedom of hip-hop diva Lil' Kim before she entered prison on a perjury conviction, COUNTDOWN TO LOCKDOWN premiered to a whopping 1.9 million viewers nationally (1.7 rating; 1.4 million households), easily becoming the most-watched series debut in BET's 25-year history. The new show also zoomed to the rank of #1 Original Series on Cable among Black households so far in 2006. A six-episode docu-drama produced in collaboration with Edmonds Entertainment and Queen Bee Entertainment, COUNTDOWN TO LOCKDOWN televises on Thursdays at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060302/NYTH080 )

"When we showed the first episode of LIL' KIM to test audiences, we got the highest scores in the history of the company. So when it became the biggest series debut in the history of the network, I wasn't surprised," said Reginald Hudlin, BET President of Entertainment. "As powerful as the first episode is, the series finale is even better. I'm pleased and relieved that my first new series on BET has become a 'must see' for so many people. I'm grateful to Edmonds Entertainment for delivering another great show for the network, and to the entire team at BET for fantastic work in every department."

Lil' Kim is one of the most celebrated rappers in the business, as well as one of the most intriguing and glamorous stars in entertainment. BET's cameras were allowed full access to Lil' Kim, her entourage and family before she headed off to a maximum-security prison in Pennsylvania on a conviction for false testimony to a federal grand jury about a shootout involving members of her posse outside a New York City radio station. Lil' Kim was sentenced to one year and a day for protecting friends involved in the 2001 incident.

BET viewers ride along with the rap diva and fashion icon as she sorts out her business and legal affairs, makes her last few public appearances to promote her new CD, shoots a video, attends fashion week, shops, hits the party scene and says goodbye to friends and family before turning herself over to federal authorities. The cameras also capture her private moments as Lil' Kim attempts to come to grips with who she is and where she's headed.

ABOUT BET NETWORKS

BET Networks, a subsidiary 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 80 million households according to Nielsen media research, and can be seen in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. BET is the dominant African-American consumer brand with a diverse group of businesses extensions: BET.com, the Number 1 Internet portal for African Americans; BET Digital Networks - BET J, BET Gospel and BET Hip Hop, attractive alternatives for cutting-edge entertainment tastes; BET Event Productions, a full-scale event management and production company; BET Home Entertainment, a collection of BET-branded offerings for the home environment including DVDs and video-on-demand; and BET Mobile, a service venture into the lucrative world of ring tones, games and video content for wireless devices.

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060302/NYTH080
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: BET (Black Entertainment Television)

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Tosha Whitten-Griggs, +1-818-655-6712, tosha.whitten-griggs@bet.net, both of
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Web site: http://www.bet.com/

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