Music and Entertainment World's Best Join Bet Special 'S.O.S (Saving Ourselves): The Bet Relief Telethon' on September 9 for Hurricane Katrina Victims

Music and Entertainment World's Best Join Bet Special 'S.O.S (Saving Ourselves): The Bet Relief Telethon' on September 9 for Hurricane Katrina Victims

106 & PARK Will Kick Things Off With a Special Benefit Episode, Followed by the Commercial Free Star-Studded Telethon from 7:30 p.m. - 10 p.m. (ET/PT)

NEW YORK, Sept. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- It will be a night like no other to help victims cope with a disaster like no other. BET will bring together stars of music and entertainment in alliance with the National Urban League, American Red Cross, Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, Essence Communications and major recording labels for a primetime telethon to raise much needed aid for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. The telethon is set for Friday, September 9 on BET, starting with a special benefit episode of 106 & PARK: BET'S TOP 10 LIVE at 6 p.m. ET*, followed by the telethon from 7:30 -- 10 p.m. ET* (*telethon is tape-delayed to the West Coast; toll-free pledge phone lines will be open).

The telethon will feature a roster of superstar artists, many with ties to the affected areas, including Wynton Marsalis, Master P, David Banner, Juvenile, Baby and Lil Wayne (Cash Money) along with Russell and Kimora Lee Simmons, Alicia Keys, Diddy, Jay Z, Kanye West, Island Def Jam Music Group Chairman Antonio "L.A." Reid Common, Usher, Nick Cannon, Omarion, Pharrell Williams, Ciara, Ludacris, Keyshia Cole, Avant, Gerald Levert, Lyfe, Twista, Stevie Wonder, Brandy, Wyclef, Erykah Badu, Al and Star Jones Reynolds, Chris Rock and more. Celebrity participants will give of their time and resources in an inspiring effort to address tremendous devastation in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and elsewhere. Telethon viewers can call designated toll-free phone numbers to make financial pledges to the Red Cross relief efforts.

ABOUT BET

BET, a subsidiary of Viacom, Inc. (NYSE:VIA)(NYSE:and)(NYSE:VIA.B), is the nation's leading television network providing quality entertainment, music, news and public affairs programming for the African-American audience. The BET Network reaches more than 80 million households according to Nielsen media research, and can be seen in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. BET is a dominant consumer brand in the urban marketplace with a diverse group of branded businesses: BET.com, the Number 1 Internet portal for African Americans; BET Digital Networks -- BET Jazz, BET Gospel and BET Hip Hop, attractive alternatives for cutting-edge entertainment tastes; BET Event Productions, specializing in a full range of event production services, including event management, venue selection, talent recruitment, sound, lighting and stage production; and BET Books, the nation's leading publisher of African-American themed romance novels under the Arabesque imprint which also publishes compelling fiction under the Sepia imprint and inspirational fiction and nonfiction under the New Spirit imprint.

For media coverage of telethon, please contact Marcy Polanco @ 212-975-4048 / marcy.polanco@BET.net

For additional information, log on to http://www.BET.com

Source: BET (Black Entertainment Television)

CONTACT: Michael Lewellen, +1-202-608-2003, Michael.Lewellen@BET.net, or Marcy Polanco, +1-212-975-4048, Marcy.Polanco@BET.net, both of BET

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

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