All Eyes Were on the 2016 “BET AWARDS” as 7.2MM Total Viewers Tuned in Across 12 Viacom Networks for the Premiere Telecast on Sunday, June 26
2016 “BET AWARDS” Ranks as the #1 Cable Award Show among Adults 18-49
for the 2015/2016 Broadcast Season
#BETAWARDS 2016 Dominated as the #1 Most Social Program of the Night
The BET Experience at L.A. LIVE Presented by Coca-Cola® Drew
165,000 Fans, Increasing Attendance by 10%
LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The LIVE premiere of the 2016 “BET
AWARDS” on Sunday, June 26, is now the #1 Cable Awards Show
among P18-49 for the 2015/2016 Broadcast Season, claiming the #1 spot
for the 2nd consecutive year. Additionally, the 2016 “BET
AWARDS” continued its reign as television’s #1 Awards Show
among African Americans 18-49; a title the show has held for 15
consecutive years (‘02-’16 on BET alone). The premiere telecast of the
2016 “BET
AWARDS” drew 7.2 million Total Viewers, as it was simulcast
live across 12 Viacom networks including MTV, VH1, Comedy Central,
Logo, Spike and Centric – making it the largest simulcast of a
Viacom-owned awards ceremony yet. The premiere telecast garnered a 4.27
P18-49 rating across 12 Viacom Networks, up +15% versus last year.
The historic Viacom multi-channel event gave the 2016 “BET
AWARDS” it’s largest reach in franchise history with the show reaching
22MM total viewers across 12 networks, up by a whopping +81% versus
last year. BET stormed the airwaves as the network broadcast live for
nearly 7 hours with the BET Pre-Show (6-8 p.m. EST); the 2016 “BET
AWARDS” premiere (8 p.m. – 11:38 p.m. EST) which garnered 4.5MM
Total Viewers P2+ and a 2.77 P18-49 rating in the demo; followed by
the BET Post-Show (11:38 p.m.-12:38 a.m. EST). For the eighth
consecutive year, the Awards also dominated the day as the #1
Ad-Supported Cable Telecast for the Day among ALL Adults 18-49
(2009-2016, Excludes Sports & non-English Networks). Recognizing
artists, entertainers, and athletes in over 20 categories, the 2016 “BET
AWARDS” aired live from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.
Returning for a second year, the “BET
AWARDS” was hosted by power pair Tracee Ellis Ross and Anthony
Anderson, stars of the hit show “Black-ish.” The night kicked off
with a surprise performance from Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar,
and also featured a series of highly-anticipated tributes to the late
music icon, Prince, including unforgettable performances from Jennifer
Hudson, Stevie Wonder, Erykah Badu, The Roots, Maxwell, Janelle Monae,
and Prince-protégé Sheila E. Spike Lee presented the
Lifetime Achievement Award to Samuel L. Jackson, while “Grey’s
Anatomy” star Jesse Williams brought the crowd to its feet as he
delivered an impassioned acceptance speech for this year’s Humanitarian
Award. Additional highlights included performances from Alicia Keys,
Usher, Bryson Tiller and Future; as well as appearances by
Taraji P. Henson, Jamie Foxx, Dave Chappelle, Spike Lee, Nate Parker and
Gabrielle Union.
The live telecast of 2016 “BET
AWARDS” was the #1 Most Social Program of the night, as
fans were engaged on multiple platforms for entertainment’s hottest
night, including Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, Vine, and Tumblr.
#BETAWARDS dominated the Twitter conversation throughout the night with
17 of the top 20 trends being related to the show, at various points
throughout the night; with Jesse Williams reaching the #1 trending
spot. A total of 3,446,905 Tweets about “2016 BET Awards”
were generated by 623,099 people in the U.S. (Source: Nielsen).
Of the 3MM+ Tweets, there were nearly 1MM reactions, translating to
1,287.4 reactions per minute (Source: Canvs). On Facebook, BET Awards
was a top trend since Friday, June 24. A total of 4 of the top 10
trends on Facebook in the 24 hours surrounding the show were BET Awards
related, including #PrinceTribute, Beyonce and Jesse Williams.
Additionally, the night saw 50MM plays of BET Awards gifs,
according to Giphy.
Driven by the incredible series of buzzworthy moments, BET Digital also
enjoyed an impressive uptick across its online and mobile platforms. The “BET
AWARDS” site saw a 50% year-over-year rise in overall unique
visitor traffic, while mobile video views of BET Awards content
increased a staggering 200%+. On BET.com, overall mobile video views
increased an impressive 172% year-over-year, and the site had an 82%
year-over-year lift in overall unique visitor traffic. In another first,
the newly-launched BET Play app brought the star-studded event to
fans in 100 countries around the world.
For the fourth consecutive year, the BET Experience at L.A. LIVE
presented by Coca-Cola® attracted thousands of visitors to the downtown
Los Angeles area for a 4-day music, comedy and entertainment festival.
The overall attendance of the mega-event reached 165,000 fans,
marking a 10% increase over 2015. The BET Experience trended for
multiple days on Instagram starting Friday, June 24th,
and continuing through Sunday evening, June 26th; it also
reached the #4 trend spot on Twitter on Saturday. Held at the Los
Angeles Convention Center, the FREE Fan Fest included a series of
family-friendly interactive activations; dynamic live concerts from
today’s hottest artists such as Desiigner, O.T. Genasis, Ro James and
Fat Joe; Genius Talks powered by AT&T including DJ Khaled,
Kirk Franklin, Gabrielle Union, Snoop Dogg, Birdman and
Jermaine Dupri; Gospel Showcase and special broadcast editions of
“106 & Park: Live from the 2016 BET Experience.” The BET Experience also
featured fan-favorite Sprite® Celebrity Basketball Game & Dunk Contest,
as well as thrilling nightly concerts at STAPLES Center from A-list
artists including Usher, Bryson Tiller, Lil Wayne, 2 Chainz, Fetty
Wap, Ty Dolla $ign, Katt Williams, and Mike Epps.
Official sponsors of the “BET
AWARDS” 2016 included Coca-Cola®, Nissan North America,
Inc., Cricket Wireless®, Motions, State Farm®, and the U.S. Army and
U.S. Air Force.
The “BET
AWARDS” 2016 took place in Los Angeles, along with the BET
Experience at L.A. LIVE presented by Coca-Cola from June 23-26. The show
aired live on Sunday, June 26, 2016 at 8 p.m. EST/PST. For a list of
winners, performances and must-see moments visit www.bet.com/betawards.
An additional encore viewing of the “BET
AWARDS” 2016 aired immediately following the Post-show at
12:30am PST, as well as Monday, June 27th at 6pm EST. A third
encore will air on Thursday, June 30th, at 8pm EST.
The 2016 “BET
AWARDS” will premiere on television around the world on BET’s
international network. The show will air in the UK on Tuesday, June 28th
at 9:00 p.m. BST, in Africa on Tuesday, June 28th at 7:00
p.m. CAT, and in France on Wednesday, June 29th at 9:00 p.m.
CEST.
Jesse Collins, CEO of Jesse Collins Entertainment served as Executive
Producer. Stephen G. Hill, BET’s President of Programming; Connie
Orlando, BET’s Senior Vice President of Music and Specials and Lynne
Harris Taylor, BET’s Vice President of Specials also served as Executive
Producers for BET Networks.
Source: BETN 360 Audience Analytics Team via The Nielsen Company | Live
+ Same Day Data Stream | 2015-16 BET Season-to-Date (09/28/15-06/26/16)
and 2014-15 (09/29/14-09/27/15) | All Cable Telecasts with Type Code =
Award Ceremony plus BET, CMT, ESPN, MTV, NICK Awards | Excludes Repeats
& Pre-Shows | All Ranked on Impressions (000).
ABOUT “BET AWARDS”
The “BET AWARDS” is one of the most watched award shows on cable
television according to the Nielsen Company. The “BET AWARDS” franchise
remains as the #1 program in cable TV history among African-Americans,
and it is BET’s #1 telecast every year. It recognizes the triumphs and
successes of artists, entertainers, and athletes in a variety of
categories.
ABOUT BET NETWORKS
BET Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: 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 90 million households and can
be seen in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, the United Kingdom
and sub-Saharan Africa. 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;
CENTRIC, a 24-hour entertainment network targeting the African-American
Woman; BET Music Networks – BET Jams, BET Soul and BET Gospel; BET Home
Entertainment; BET Live, BET’s growing festival business; BET Mobile,
which provides ringtones, games and video content for wireless devices;
and BET International, which operates BET around the globe.
ABOUT AEG
AEG is the world’s leading sports and live entertainment company. AEG, a
wholly owned subsidiary of The Anschutz Corporation, owns, operates or
consults with a collection of companies including over 100 of the
world’s preeminent facilities such as STAPLES Center (Los Angeles, CA),
StubHub Center (Carson, CA), PlayStation Theater (Times Square, New
York), Mercedes-Benz Arena (Shanghai, China), Qudos Bank Arena (Sydney,
Australia), Mercedes-Benz Arena (Berlin, Germany), and The O2 arena and
entertainment district (London, England). Developed by AEG, L.A. LIVE is
a 4 million square foot / $2.5 billion downtown Los Angeles sports, &
entertainment district featuring Microsoft Theater and a 54-story,
1001-room convention “headquarters” destination. In addition to
overseeing privately held management shares of the Los Angeles Lakers,
assets of AEG Sports include franchises such as the LA Kings, LA Galaxy
and the Amgen Tour of California cycling stage race. Along with AEG
Facilities, other global divisions include AEG Live, the world’s second
largest concert promotion and touring companies comprised of touring,
festival, exhibition, broadcast, merchandise and special event divisions
and AEG Global Partnerships, responsible for worldwide sales and
servicing of sponsorships, naming rights and other strategic
partnerships. In 2010, AEG launched its AEG 1EARTH environmental program
featuring the industry’s first sustainability report while in 2011, AEG
introduced AXS a comprehensive entertainment platform serving as the
company’s primary consumer brand including AXS Ticketing which provides
fans the opportunity to purchase tickets directly from their favorite
venues via a user-friendly ticketing interface, Examiner.com and the AXS
TV network, a linear cable channel focusing on live entertainment and
lifestyle programming available in nearly 40 million homes. AEG’s
European headquarters are located in London. Global headquarters are in
Los Angeles. For more information, visit: www.aegworldwide.com.
Follow us on Twitter @BET_PR
Contacts
BET Networks
Giovanna Desselle, 310-481-3872
giovanna.desselle@bet.net
