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DMX & KEYSHIA COLE GIVE BET 2 NEW HITS: Network's Reality Programming Strategy on the Right Track

(July 19, 2006)

WASHINGTON – BET Networks’ formula for reality programming is literally proving that if you build it, they really will come – provided you’ve got the right stars.

R&B diva Keyshia Cole and edgy rapper DMX both debuted new original BET reality series last Wednesday, and the duo racked up impressive audience tallies of more than 3 million viewers between them.

The two shows are immediate evidence that BET intends to continue the wave that has led to all-time best viewership in the first two quarters of 2006.

KEYSHIA COLE: THE WAY IT IS netted a 1.44 national rating, which calculates to 1.2 million households and 1.6 million viewers. That delivery made this inside look at the superstar-in-the-making #2 all-time among original BET series programming trailing only the record-setting LIL’ KIM: COUNTDOWN TO LOCKDOWN, which debuted last January.

DMX: SOUL OF A MAN, which probes a never-before-seen side to the hardcore hip-hop star, logged an equally strong 1.36 national rating (1.1 million households; 1.5 million viewers). His premiere now ranks #3 all-time among original series in BET history.

Black households were particularly drawn to the two summertime additions to BET’s lineup, delivering a 9.7 rating for Keyshia Cole, and 8.7 for DMX. The new reality tandem televises Wednesdays at 9 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. ET/PT respectively.

ABOUT BET NETWORKS

BET Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom, Inc. (NYSE: VIA and 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 81 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 business extensions: BET.com, the Number 1 Internet portal for African Americans; 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; and BET Mobile, a service venture into the lucrative world of ring tones, games and video content for wireless devices.

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source: BET Networks / Michael Lewellen

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