BET Networks' Award-Winning HIV/AIDS Campaign, Rap-It-Up, Heads Back To Fort Lauderdale To Sponsor the Annual David Deal Playday Event on Saturday, July 21

BET Networks' Award-Winning HIV/AIDS Campaign, Rap-It-Up, Heads Back To Fort Lauderdale To Sponsor the Annual David Deal Playday Event on Saturday, July 21

WASHINGTON, July 11 /PRNewswire/ -- BET Networks returns to the Sunshine State with its renowned national HIV/AIDS public awareness initiative, Rap-It-Up, to sponsor the city of Fort Lauderdale's 54th Annual David Deal Playday Summer Fest in partnership with the City of Fort Lauderdale Parks and Recreation Department and 103.5 The Beat. The goal of the event is to raise HIV/AIDS awareness among the Black community as well as distribute vital information to the public about HIV prevention.

The annual event will take place on Saturday, July 21 from 12:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. at Ft. Lauderdale's Joseph C. Carter Park on 1450 West Sunrise Blvd, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33311. The BET Rap-It-Up Soundstage begins at 3:00 p.m. and will showcase a variety of red-hot performances including hip-hop phenomenon T-Pain, R&B crooner Sammie, gospel singer Canton Jones, neo-soul artist Algebra, J Wonder Experience, and Lil Skinny, along with soundstage co-hosts, BET personality Joe Clair and comedian Razor.

This year's event will offer a health expo component providing onsite health services for all event attendees. The Broward County Health Department will be onsite administering free HIV testing, along with health representatives from the local Humana of South Florida, North Broward Hospital District, Hope Central, and the Children's Diagnostic Treatment Center, who will also conduct free diagnostic exams, immunizations and health screening for interested event attendees. There will also be a Kids Zone for children to visit, various game tournaments for adults, and vendors providing a variety of diverse food from different cultures.

Unfortunately, Black Americans are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS and disturbing statistics show that the state of Florida represents number two of the ten states with the most number of Blacks estimated to be living with AIDS. Overall, Blacks account for the most AIDS diagnoses, people estimated to be living with AIDS, and HIV-related deaths than any other racial group in the United States. Presently, African-American women account for 67 percent of new AIDS cases among women and although Black teens (ages 13 - 19) represent only 15 percent of U.S. teens, they accounted for 66 percent of newly-reported AIDS cases in 2003.

To date, BET's Rap-It-Up Campaign has tested over 11,800 people nationwide for HIV infection; managed over 1.1 million calls to the Rap-It-Up toll-free hotline; hosted community teen forums for over 10,000 youth in over 33 U.S. cities; distributed over 400,000 sexual health information guides; and reached millions of viewers via HIV-related programming on the BET Network, including award-winning news specials, documentaries and public service announcements.

ABOUT RAP-IT-UP

Since 1998, the Kaiser Family Foundation and BET: Black Entertainment Television have partnered on a extensive public education campaign to inform young people about sexual health issues, including HIV/AIDS and other sexually-transmitted diseases (STDs). The partnership includes special programming, public service advertisements (PSAs), online content on bet.com, and a free resource and referral service.

In 2000, the campaign launched a grassroots initiative to complement the on-air and online components of Rap-It-Up. Program elements include teen forums, mobile HIV testing events, and middle and high school curricula about HIV/AIDS. The campaign has received numerous awards, including 11 Cable Positive POP Awards, a 2005 NAACP Image Award Nomination for "Walking on Sunshine", the 2002 CTPAA Joel Berger Award, and the 2002 Academy of Television Arts & Science TV Cares "Ribbon of Hope" Award. Additionally, the campaign has received 3 EMMY nominations for Best National Public Service Announcements (2002/2003, 2003/2004, and 2004/2005).

About BET Networks

BET Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom, Inc. (NYSE:VIA) and (NYSE:VIA.B), is the leading provider of media and entertainment for African Americans and consumers of Black culture on a global basis. The primary BET cable network reaches more than 84 million households and can be seen in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. BET Digital Networks -- BET J, BET Gospel, and BET Hip-Hop -- are brands that combine to serve a broader and more diverse audience than the core network. BET.com is the number one internet destination for the target audiences. BET Mobile delivers music, gaming, and video content to the target audiences on wireless devices across virtually all service providers. BET Event Productions is a full-scale event management and production company with festivals and live events spanning the globe. BET International delivers BET content to the consumers of Black culture around the world. BET Networks inspires its audiences to make a difference in their lives and communities with a series of impactful pro-social initiatives under the Touch BET umbrella.

FCMN Contact:

photo opps with BET Rap-It-Up staff, talent
and event sponsors

Source: BET Networks

CONTACT: Lyntina Townsend of BET Networks, +1-202-608-2745,
lyntina.townsend@bet.net

Web site:

http://www.bet.com/
http://www.bet.com/PR

NOTE TO EDITORS: Contact Lyntina Townsend at telephone numbers (202) 608-2745, 202/ 276-8830 or email Lyntina.Townsend@bet.net to request onsite media access and interview /First Call Analyst:

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