BET Rolls Out a Night of Original Programming with the BET News Special 'Beauty Blackout' and the Critically Acclaimed Series 'Keyshia Cole: The Way It Is'

BET Rolls Out a Night of Original Programming with the BET News Special 'Beauty Blackout' and the Critically Acclaimed Series 'Keyshia Cole: The Way It Is'

NEW YORK, May 14/PRNewswire/ --

- PREMIERING MONDAY 26 MAY AT 8:30 P.M. AND 9:00 P.M. ON SKY 209

Visit any newsagent and you'll see that almost exclusively there are
scores of blonde and brunette, white women gracing the covers of Britain's
biggest magazines. Whether its fashion, beauty or lifestyle titles; British
magazines rarely feature women of color in their pages, which is a telltale
symptom of much larger disease plaguing England's multi-cultural society. In
the first ever news special for its audiences in the United Kingdom, BET
reveals that people of colour in the U.K. are experiencing a "Beauty
Blackout."

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070716/BETNETWORKSLOGO )

Premiering Monday, 26 May at 8:30 p.m., BET News correspondent Sharon
Carpenter speaks with stars like Jamelia, Alesha Dixon, Nicola Hughes (Rock
Rivals, Porgy and Bess) , as well as industry opinion-formers like Britain's
Next Top Model judge Gerry Deveaux and other insiders; for a look at the
colour-challenged fashion and glamour modeling industry from all
perspectives. The special also delves into the disturbing ways in which
England's beauty ideal affects average women and young girls in their
everyday lives.

Carole White, co-founder of Premier Model Management admits, "We'll have
a load of castings where they'll say -- 'no black girls'." Through this
timely and comprehensive news show, BET brings to the forefront these
important issues facing the British Black community regarding standards of
beauty, the impact it has on women of colour, and the troubling reasons why
"mainstream" British society has never considered black women beautiful.

- later on BET Sky 209-

To conclude this huge night, at 9:00 p.m., we bring you the UK premiere
of "Keyshia Cole: The Way It Is" BET's #1 original series of all time. Season
one of this six-part reality series documents the life of R&B songstress
Keyshia Cole just before she breaks big. For several months, Keyshia granted
BET special access into her private life as she traveled the country,
revealing personal details of her un-charmed past and the promising future
ahead of her. "Keyshia Cole: The Way It Is" gives one-of-a-kind insight into
the world of one of music's most captivating and complex rising stars.

For up-to-the-minute and archival press information including releases
and photographs, visit BET's press-only Web site at http://www.bet.com/pr.

About BET Networks

BET Networks, a division of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA, 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 87 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 business
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, which provides
ringtones, games and video content for wireless devices; and BET
International, an extension of BET network programming for global
distribution.

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

Source: BET International

Michelle Clark, +1-212-205-3158, michelle.clark@bet.net, or Bernadette Simpao, +1-212-205-3154, bernadette.simpao@bet.net, both of BET-NY; or Donna Morgan for BET-UK, +44-(0)-208-318-0040, donna@glenyearwoodgroup.com. Photo:

http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070716/BETNETWORKSLOGO AP Archive:

http://photoarchive.ap.org PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com

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