BET Unveils Double Dose of Sunday News and Talk Programming with THE CHOP UP and MEET THE FAITH

BET Unveils Double Dose of Sunday News and Talk Programming with THE CHOP UP and MEET THE FAITH

THE CHOP UP Premieres Sunday, April 30 at 11:00 a.m. ET/PT with Shocking Revelations into the Unsolved Murder of Hip Hop's 'Notorious B.I.G.'

CNN's Carlos Watson Helms MEET THE FAITH's Moral Point of View on May 7

WASHINGTON, April 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Sunday morning's brunch of network news, talk and political debate has a pair of new menu items courtesy of BET News. Viewers with an appetite for national and international news served with provocative thought, in-depth analysis and engaging discussion can now turn to BET's THE CHOP UP and MEET THE FAITH twice on Sundays.

Premiering Sunday, April 30 at 11 a.m. ET/PT with a special one-hour debut, THE CHOP UP promises a weekly dissection of the places, people and issues of close connection to the African-American community. The top-shelf happenings in the world will be delivered in fast-paced, informative chunks under the skillful guidance of host tandem Jeff Johnson and Jina Johnson; with street-wise Samson roaming the community for an up-close sense of what's on the minds of BET viewers. Anchoring THE CHOP UP's opener will be startling new revelations into the still unsolved murder of hip-hop superstar Biggie Smalls, aka "Notorious B. I. G."

Produced for BET and THE CHOP UP by Emmy Award-winning journalist, producer and author P. Frank Williams, the segment entitled "Long Kiss Goodnight" peels back the layers on the nine years since Biggie Smalls was gunned down in Los Angeles. In her first television interview since winning a multi-million dollar wrongful death suit against the city of Los Angeles, Biggie's mother Voletta Wallace shares striking details about the FBI investigation of her son's murder. Also for the first time on television, Lil' Cease, a member of Biggie's Junior Mafia crew, shares a chilling eye-witness account of what happened inside the car where Biggie was riding when the fatal shots were fired.

MEET THE FAITH will use its prism of morality and spiritual perspective each week with a lively roundtable discussion of current events. CNN's Carlos Watson, noted worldwide as an informed political insider, steps into the talk show host role with an unexpected blend of guests and unusual topics. MEET THE FAITH premieres on Sunday, May 7 at 11 a.m. ET/PT, followed by THE CHOP UP in its regular timeslot of 11:30 a.m. ET/PT. Both shows will get Sunday night encore showings at 8:00 and 8:30 respectively.

"We are presenting news in a way that is unconventional and provocative, while at the same time connected to the Black experience in social, political, spiritual and intellectual terms," said Reginald Hudlin, BET President of Entertainment. "There's nothing like THE CHOP UP and MEET THE FAITH on any network today, which makes it perfect for BET."

THE CHOP UP

PREMIERE TELECAST: Sunday, April 30 @ 11:00 a.m. ET/PT (Special One Hour
Premiere)
(Encore Showing - 8:00 p.m. ET/PT)

WEEKLY SCHEDULE: Sundays @ 11:30 a.m. and 8:30 p.m. ET/PT

HOSTS: Jeff Johnson, Jina Johnson and Samson

BET EXECUTIVES
IN CHARGE: Reginald Hudlin, President of Entertainment
Nina Henderson Moore, Executive Vice President -
News & Public Affairs
Byron Phillips, Executive Vice President of
Entertainment

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Selwyn Seyfu Hinds

MEET THE FAITH

PREMIERE TELECAST: Sunday, May 7 @ 11:00 a.m. ET/PT
(Encore Showing - 8:00 p.m. ET/PT)

WEEKLY SCHEDULE: Sundays @ 11:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. ET/PT; May 7 - June
18, 2006

HOST: Carlos Watson

BET EXECUTIVES
IN CHARGE: Reginald Hudlin, President of Entertainment
Nina Henderson Moore, Executive Vice President -
News & Public Affairs
Byron Phillips, Executive Vice President of
Entertainment

BET PRODUCERS: Julie Anderson, Co-Executive Producer
Carlos Watson, Co-Executive Producer
Victoria L. Chapman, Supervising Producer

ABOUT BET NETWORKS

BET Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom, Inc. (NYSE:VIA)(NYSE:and)(NYSE: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 business 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.

Source: BET (Black Entertainment Television)

CONTACT: Michael Lewellen, of BET, +1-202-608-2003,
michael.lewellen@bet.net

Web site: http://www.bet.com/

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