BET Launches Search For America's Next Big Gospel Star

BET Launches Search For America's Next Big Gospel Star

Auditions Seek Undiscovered Singers for New Fall Series SUNDAY BEST

LOS ANGELES, July 26 /PRNewswire/ -- BET builds on its success with CELEBRATION OF GOSPEL, the #1 religious program in television history, and Bobby Jones Gospel with SUNDAY BEST, a national search for America's next great gospel singer. Brought to you by one of the producers of the original American Idol, SUNDAY BEST will scour the country from storefront churches to mega-churches looking for the best undiscovered gospel singers in America. The search begins in Los Angeles and moves on to Atlanta and Chicago -- hopefuls planning to audition should arrive early, as only the first 500 attendees are guaranteed an audition! SUNDAY BEST'S celebrity judges will narrow the field down to 20 finalists who will travel to Los Angeles to begin the competition. One anointed singer will be crowned BET's SUNDAY BEST and receive cash and prizes for themselves and their church community.

AUGUST 4, 2007 -- LOS ANGELES, CA -- 9:00 am PT
The Renaissance Montura Hotel
9620 Airport Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90045
**Call backs with celebrity judges August 5

AUGUST 11, 2007 -- ATLANTA, GA -- 9:00 am ET
Renaissance Atlanta Hotel -- Downtown
590 West Peachtree Street, Atlanta, GA 30308
**Call backs with celebrity judges August 12

August 18, 2007 -- Chicago, IL -- 9:00 a.m. CT
Hyatt Regency McCormick Place
2233 South Martin L. King Drive Chicago, IL 60616
**Call backs with celebrity judges August 19

SUNDAY BEST is scheduled to premiere Tuesday, October 2 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT. For more information, visit www.BET.com or call 888-PSALMS-95.

About BET Networks

BET Networks, a division of Viacom Inc. (NYSE:VIA)(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 85 million households according to Nielsen Media Research, and can be seen in the U.S., 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 ringtones, games and video content for wireless devices;

and BET International, an extension of BET network programming for global distribution.

Source: BET Networks

CONTACT: Zabrina Horton, +1-310-481-3812, Zabrina.horton@bet.net, or
Shae Smith, +1-770-875-4883, Shae.smith@bet.net, both of BET Networks

Web site:

http://www.bet.com/

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