CELEBRATION OF GOSPEL '07 Praised by Viewers With Impressive Ratings and Earns Spot in Television History

CELEBRATION OF GOSPEL '07 Praised by Viewers With Impressive Ratings and Earns Spot in Television History

Telecast Becomes Most-Watched Gospel Program in TV History with 2.5 Million Viewers

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- On Sunday, January 28, BET garnered more impressive ratings, this time with CELEBRATION OF GOSPEL, which scored a 2.1 average rating which translates to 2.5 million viewers (1.7 million households) who watched the inspirational affair, according to Nielsen Media Research. Those numbers catapulted CELEBRATION OF GOSPEL '07 to the rank of number 1 Religious/Gospel Program in television history. In addition, CELEBRATION OF GOSPEL '07 holds the number 1 position for a weekend telecast in BET history and also ranks among BET's Top 25 telecasts of all time. Furthermore, the special is the number 2 telecast of the entire 2006-2007 BET season behind the inaugural HIP HOP AWARDS.

CELEBRATION OF GOSPEL '07 was hosted by veteran comedian/actor and popular syndicated radio personality Steve Harvey. The two-hour special featured spiritually uplifting performances by some of the biggest names in gospel and mainstream music, a heartfelt tribute to Tyler Perry and a powerful new element of spoken word.

"What's exciting about Celebration of Gospel '07 being recognized as the #1 religious/Gospel program in TV history is that BET now has the top gospel show, the top hip-hop awards show, and the top awards show in all of cable television with our BET Awards," said Reginald Hudlin, BET President of Entertainment.

The highly-anticipated annual praise-fest kicked off with star-studded red carpet arrivals, followed by a show-stopping opening performance of "Jesus Can Fix It" by Yolanda Adams and Pastor Shirley Caesar. The telecast was a hand- clapping, foot-stomping two-hour revival filled with rousing performances by Fantasia, Loretta Devine, Smokie Norful, Juanita Bynum, Tye Tribbett, Kelly Price, Fred Hammond, The Caravans, Dr. Bobby Jones, Lil Mo, Kiki Sheard, Kirk Franklin and Coko along with others who hit the stage in front of the standing-room only crowd.

Show highlights included a special segment honoring writer, producer, director, and actor extraordinaire, Tyler Perry for embodying the theme of this year's show, "Taking You Higher." Quincy Jones, Gabrielle Union, Lou Gossett, Jr., Blair Underwood, Yolanda Adams, producer Reuben Cannon and Keke Palmer all took part in the emotional tribute recognizing Perry's body of work and his successful approach to making gospel-themed urban theatre accessible to the masses.

Viewers can catch their favorite moments during encores airing on Saturday, February 3 at 8 p.m. ET/PT and Wednesday, February 7 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

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 84 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, 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 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; BET Mobile, a service venture into the lucrative world of ring tones, games and video content for wireless devices; and BET International, an extension of BET network programming for global distribution.

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Source: BET Networks

CONTACT: Tosha Whitten-Griggs of BET Networks, +1-310-481-3812,
Tosha.whitten-griggs@bet.net; or Carrie Simons of BWR Public Relations,
+1-310-248-6104, csimons@bwr-la.com, for BET Networks

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

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