BET Networks and DStv Bring Auditions for BET's Hit Gospel Singing Competition 'SUNDAY BEST' to Nigeria Sunday, December 6

2 Dec 2009 17:47 Africa/Lagos


BET Networks and DStv Bring Auditions for BET's Hit Gospel Singing Competition 'SUNDAY BEST' to Nigeria Sunday, December 6

EVENT MARKS ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF LAUNCH OF BET IN AFRICA Gospel Greats Kirk Franklin, Donnie McClurkin, Kim Burrell and Muyiwa Olarewaju Invite Nigeria's Best Gospel Singers to the First Ever International Search for BET's Next Gospel Star BET Networks and MultiChoice to Hold Press Conference at the Eko Hotel in Lagos, Nigeria

NEW YORK, Dec. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Over the past year, through the agreement with MultiChoice, BET Networks has delivered high quality programming on DStv to countries in the sub-Saharan Africa including Nigeria. Since the November 30, 2008 launch BET has remarkably increased its reach from 11 to over 30 countries in the region. To commemorate its one year anniversary BET will bring its hit Gospel music competition series, SUNDAY BEST to Lagos, Nigeria on Sunday December 6, 2009.


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


Hosted by gospel legend Kirk Franklin, SUNDAY BEST returns for its third season in search of the next great gospel singer and expands its auditions outside of U.S. borders for the first time. Gospel greats and judges for the Nigerian try outs, Donnie McClurkin, Kim Burrell and British-Nigerian gospel artist Muyiwa Olarewaju, will join Franklin during the auditions at the Eko Hotel located at Adetokunbo Ademola Street, Lagos, NG 12724. An episode of the new season of SUNDAY BEST will highlight footage taken from the Nigerian auditions and the series will air in the U.S., Canada, the Caribbean, the United Kingdom and Africa reaching more than 101 million households around the world.


The first round of SUNDAY BEST auditions on Sunday, December 6, 2009 in Lagos, Nigeria will be open to the first 1000 contestants age 21 and older who have a government issued form of identification. Doors to the venue will open at 10:00 a.m. Contestants who make it past the first round will be asked to come back on Monday, December 7 and judges will then determine who will travel to the United States to compete during the third season of SUNDAY BEST. U.S. auditions cities and dates to be announced.


On Monday December 7 BET Senior Vice President and General Manager Michael D. Armstrong and MultiChoice Nigeria Managing Director Joseph Hundah will host a press conference at the Eko Hotel to discuss partnership achievements between the two companies, future programming and the expansion of SUNDAY BEST to Nigeria. Armstrong and Hundah, along with panelist gospel artists Kirk Franklin, Donnie McClurkin, Kim Burrell and Muyiwa Olarewaju, SUNDAY BEST executive producers D'Angela Proctor Steed and Nia Hill and BET Vice President of International, Programming and Production Ava L. Hall will be present. "I'm pleased to mark BET's one-year celebration on DStv with this unique opportunity to showcase Nigeria's remarkable gospel singing talent for the millions of SUNDAY BEST viewers around the world," said Armstrong.


MultiChoice Nigeria Managing Director Joseph Hundah was also enthusiastic about the upcoming BET auditions saying, "Nigeria has some of the finest gospel singers in the world and so MultiChoice Nigeria is pleased and proud to be associated with this landmark BET initiative. We remain committed to developing strong and deep relationships with international and African channel suppliers to ensure that our partnerships create vital opportunities, such as this, to positively showcase Nigerian talent."


Available via DStv's Premium, Compact, Family and Access bouquets, BET provides consumers in Africa access to the network's top-rated and critically acclaimed shows, including 106 & PARK, THE MO'NIQUE SHOW, TINY & TOYA, MONICA: STILL STANDING, FIRST IN, THE BET HONORS, BOBBY JONES GOSPEL, and many more.


BET Networks is the leading provider of media and entertainment for African Americans and consumers of Black culture, currently reaching more than 101 million households around the world. The programming that airs on BET on DStv include series and specials such as:


Series
-- 106 & PARK - As BET's highest-rated music and variety series of all
time, 106 & PARK has quickly become the leading music video countdown,
performance and interview show on television.
-- FIRST IN - Narrated by entertainment mogul Tyrese Gibson, FIRST IN
delves into the lives of Compton's firefighters and paramedics as they
try to balance the high stress of a gruesome 72-hour work schedule and
family life.
-- BOBBY JONES GOSPEL - BET's longest-running gospel program, BOBBY JONES
GOSPEL, returns for another divine season of uplifting performances
and special appearances - all hosted by veteran gospel show host, Dr.
Bobby Jones. This fall marks the show's 28th season.
-- THE MO'NIQUE SHOW - hosted by the extraordinary actress and comedienne
Mo'Nique, the show delivers viewers a fun-filled hour of
entertainment. From A-list celebrity guests to sizzling performances
by the hottest musical artists in the game, THE MO'NIQUE SHOW is BET
Networks' #1 late night show.
-- MONICA: STILL STANDING - After a brief hiatus from the music
industry, R&B singer Monica is back in the spotlight with an intimate,
profound docu-drama that takes a look at her day-to-day world in the
new original BET series MONICA: STILL STANDING.
-- TINY & TOYA - BET's brand new original series "Tiny & Toya" reveals
the lives of two best friends defining themselves despite the harsh
glare of the public Eye. Tiny's life with fiancee T.I. and Toya's
former life with ex-husband Lil Wayne is standard fodder for the
gossip mill. Now, for the first time, these two fascinating women get
to tell their own stories on their own terms.

Specials
-- BET AWARDS - The BET AWARDS brings together the best in entertainment,
music and sports and stands as the most-watched awards program for
African American viewers in cable television history.
-- THE BET HONORS - THE BET HONORS celebrates Black achievement in
business, entertainment, social justice and philanthropy while
providing the kind of award-winning, show-stopping musical
performances that make BET specials deliver huge results.
-- CELEBRATION OF GOSPEL - Always a star-studded gathering of gospel and
R&B greats, CELEBRATION OF GOSPEL holds the crown as the highest-rated
gospel program anywhere on television for eight years running.
-- CENTRIC PRESENTS: 2009 SOUL TRAIN AWARDS - Special honors the
longstanding careers and musical influences of legendary artists Chaka
Khan and Charlie Wilson, acknowledges the phenomenal star power and
showmanship of the late Michael Jackson with the special Entertainer
of the Year Award, and is guaranteed to take viewers on a
soul-stirring ride through Soul Train's most memorable moments.


In addition to delivering original programming to audiences in Africa, BET has continued the international expansion of its Emmy Award-winning pro-social initiative Rap-It-Up and extended the campaign into Africa, beginning with the 2008 special World AIDS Day programming such as the BET News special ARE YOU POSITIVE?


Since 1998, BET has partnered with the Kaiser Family Foundation on Rap-It-Up, a comprehensive public education campaign designed to inform young people about sexual health issues, including HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. The award-winning campaign features special news programs, documentaries, public service announcements, online content, a U.S. toll-free hotline, community forums, mobile HIV testing events and school curricula.


ABOUT BET'S SUNDAY BEST


Back by popular demand, BET is on the search for the next great gospel singer. For two seasons, millions of viewers have tuned into SUNDAY BEST to get their "praise on!" Each week during the hour-long contest, viewers will be treated to musical performances from the remaining hopefuls along with candid feedback from the all-star team of judges and surprise visits from an array of celebrity mentors, until one singer is named SUNDAY BEST. Season three of SUNDAY BEST breaks into the international realm and will hold its first ever auditions abroad in Lagos, Nigeria. Prize packs for past SUNDAY BEST winners included national U.S. recording contracts, brand new vehicles, a prize package for the winner's community and the title of SUNDAY BEST.


ABOUT MULTICHOICE & DStv


MultiChoice Africa Limited is a multi-channel pay television platform providing premium services to 47 countries across the African continent and adjacent Indian Ocean islands. Through the range of DStv bouquets, the company provides quality television entertainment to Africa's rich diversity of cultural and language requirements.


Operations include subscriber management services and the management of a digital satellite television platform providing DStv which consists of a wide selection of video and audio channels 24 hours a day. MultiChoice Africa operates from four satellites over Africa, this includes the C-Band IS 10 satellite which covers the whole of Africa, the KU Band Eutelsat W4 satellite which stretches from Senegal in the West to Mauritius in the East, SESAT over central Africa and the KU Band IS 7 satellite which covers Southern Africa.


Through continuous innovation in technology and assembling an excellent range of bouquets, built around compelling news, as well as premium movie and sports channels, MultiChoice Africa has succeeded in adding significant value for subscribers and television consumers in Africa.


MultiChoice Africa Limited is a registered company based in Mauritius and is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Naspers Group.


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 97 million households and can be seen in the U.S., Canada, the Caribbean and the United Kingdom. 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, which provides ringtones, games and video content for wireless devices; and BET International, an extension of BET network programming for global distribution.


*For more on SUNDAY BEST please visit us at BET.com/SUNDAYBEST


Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070716/BETNETWORKSLOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: BET Networks

CONTACT: Tricia N. Newell, BET, +1-212-975-8230, tricia.newell@bet.net,
or Zabrina Horton, BET, +1-310-481-3737, zabrina.horton@bet.net, or Voncella
McIntosh, BET, +1-310-481-3732, Voncella.mcintosh@bet.net; or Segun Fayose,
MultiChoice Nigeria, 0803 402 3983, SFayose@multichoice.co.za


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

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