'VH1 Hip Hop Honors' Telecast Draws Record 1.8 Million Viewers on Tuesday, October 17 Premiere

'VH1 Hip Hop Honors' Telecast Draws Record 1.8 Million Viewers on Tuesday, October 17 Premiere

3rd Annual Event Hosted by Ice-T Scores 1.2 in 18-49 Demo

NEW YORK, Oct. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- They represented and America recognized.

The 3rd annual "VH1 Hip Hop Honors" was the highest rated and most watched event yet in the network's "Hip Hop Honors" franchise. The premiere of this year's "VH1 Hip Hop Honors" telecast at 9:00 pm on Tuesday, October 17 scored a 1.2 in the key 18-49 demo -- a 33% increase compared to last year's edition. The event drew a total of 1.8 million viewers -- a 29% increase over last year's "Hip Hop Honors" show.* This year's show was also #2 in its time period across all of basic cable among viewers 18-49.

VH1 paid homage to the hip hop pioneers and luminaries who transformed the genre into a true cultural phenomenon in the third annual "VH1 Hip Hop Honors." This year, "VH1 Hip Hop Honors" paid tribute to Ice Cube, Wu-Tang Clan, Afrika Bambaataa, Russell Simmons, MC Lyte, Rakim, Beastie Boys and Eazy E.

Taped at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City on October 7 and hosted by last year's honoree Ice T, the music and influence of each of the honorees was recognized through performances by classic artists in collaboration with today's hottest new talent including Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Bootsy Collins, Shawna, Lil Eazy-E, Black Ice, Lil Kim, Diddy, Fat Joe, Lil Jon, Da Brat, Xzibit, Talib Kweli, Remy Ma, Q-Tip, Common, The Roots, George Clinton, Young Jeezy, Erykah Badu and KRS-One. Outkast, Tracy Morgan and Mike Epps made special appearances. Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson of the Roots was this year's musical director.

This ratings achievement comes on the heels of VH1 posting the #1 telecast on all of cable for the night on Sunday, October 15 with the season finale of "Flavor of Love 2," which drew 7.5 million viewers and averaged a 4.6 in the 18-49 demo. In addition, the premiere of "Ice-T's Rap School" immediately after "VH1 Hip Hop Honors" scored a .8 in the 18-49 demo.

For the first time in VH1's history, pre-show event footage was seen exclusively on VSPOT, VH1's broadband channel. Hosted by former "VH1 Hip Hop Honors" honorees Salt, Pepa and Spinderella, red carpet interviews and backstage footage is now available on VSPOT at http://hiphop.vh1.com/. All performances from the broadcast are now available on VSPOT and VH1 Mobile.

"VH1 Hip Hop Honors" is sponsored by T-Mobile, USA, Chevrolet, Taco Bell(R) Corp, Jergens(R) Shea Butter and Warner Bros. Pictures: Blood Diamond.

This year's "VH1 Hip Hop Honors" was executive produced by Lee Rolontz for VH1 and Jac Benson for Blacjac Entertainment. Co-executive producers are Nelson George and Fab 5 Freddy. Louis J. Horvitz directed.

VH1 connects viewers to the music, artists and pop culture that matter to them most with series, specials, live events, exclusive online content and public affairs initiatives. VH1 is available in 89 million households in the U.S. VH1 also has an array of digital services including VH1 Classic and VH1 Soul. Connect with VH1 at http://www.vh1.com/.

* All data from Nielsen Media Research

Source: VH1

CONTACT: Brett Henne of VH1, +1-212-846-6752, Brett.Henne@vh1staff.com,
or Erica Cantwell of VH1, +1-212-846-3683, Erica.Cantwell@vh1staff.com

Web site: http://www.vh1.com/
http://hiphop.vh1.com/
http://www.vh1.com/press

NOTE TO EDITORS: For up-to-the-minute and archival press information including releases and photographs, visit VH1's press-only Web site at http://www.vh1.com/press

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