Scott Mills Named President and Chief Operating Officer of BET Networks

Scott Mills Named President and Chief Operating Officer of BET Networks

Michael Pickrum Appointed Chief Financial Officer

Denmark West to Serve as President of Digital Media

NEW YORK, July 19 /PRNewswire/ -- BET Networks, a unit of Viacom Inc. (NYSE:VIA) (NYSE:VIA.B) , today announced Scott Mills has been named President and Chief Operating Officer for BET Networks. The company also appointed Michael Pickrum as Chief Financial Officer and named Denmark West to serve as President of Digital Media. Mills will report directly to Debra Lee, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BET Networks, and remain based in Washington, D.C. Pickrum and West will report to Mills and will be based in Washington, D.C., and New York City, respectively.

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Mills, who was most recently BET Networks' CFO and President of Digital Media, will lead the company's business operations, including Advertising Sales, Content Distribution & Marketing, Legal and Business Affairs, Finance, Digital, Research, International and Administration.

"Scott brings incredible operational, financial and digital expertise to this new role -- qualities that will help him guide BET Networks to a position of even greater growth," said Lee. "His leadership and vision for the future will ensure that we are working in the most efficient and strategic way possible across our business."

In his role as Chief Financial Officer, Pickrum will be responsible for managing the financial operations for BET Networks and will play a strategic role in the overall management of the company.

As President of Digital Media, West will lead the company's expanding portfolio of digital brands, including BET.com, BET Mobile, BET on Demand and BET's digital download offerings, and will oversee the development and implementation of the company's global digital strategy.

"With Michael's exceptional analytical skills, leadership abilities and operational experience, he is the perfect person to lead BET Networks' great finance team," said Mills. "And I'm thrilled to welcome Denmark to the BET Networks family. Denmark is simply one of the best digital strategists in the industry. Between his time at Microsoft and his recent roles at MTVN, he has developed valuable experience and relationships across the mobile, games, online and even traditional media businesses. I'm certain he brings the expertise to drive BETN's digital strategy and assets to the next level."

About Scott Mills

Scott Mills served as President of Digital Media since January 2007, and Chief Financial Officer of BET Networks since 2003, where he was responsible for all financial functions, strategy and business development, and research. In his business strategy and development capacity, he led the creation of BET Mobile, BET's groundbreaking urban mobile content subscription service; the consolidation of BET Networks' ownership in BET.com; the launch of BET's

digital video download offering on iTunes; and the expansion of BET's VOD product.

Prior to becoming CFO, Mills was Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of BET Interactive, the operating entity for BET Network's flagship online portal BET.com. He oversaw the start-up of BET.com and lead the property to become the #1 online media platform for African Americans. He joined BET in 1997 as Senior Vice President of Strategy & Business Development, where he developed the business plan for BET.com and oversaw a number of BET's new business ventures.

Before coming to BET in 1997, Mills had been a vice president with the Lehman Brothers financial services firm for four years; and earlier in his career served as deputy treasurer of the City of Philadelphia. Mills is a native of New York, and received his bachelor's of science degree in economics from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.

About Michael Pickrum

Prior to becoming CFO, Michael Pickrum was Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of BET Interactive, LLC, since 2003. He was responsible for the development and refinement of BET.com's successful business model, driving the site's growth and accelerating revenue. He also facilitated the 2006 purchase of BET.com from the site's original non-BET investment group. Under Pickrum's leadership, BET.com has become the leading online destination for African American content.

Pickrum first joined BET Interactive in September 1999 as Vice President of Business Development for BET.com, where he expanded the site's business plan and developed news concepts for market analysis and competitive analysis. Prior to that, he served as a telecommunications and Internet consultant with Mercer Management Consulting.

A native of Cincinnati, Pickrum holds an MBA in finance and entrepreneurial management from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. He also has a master of science degree in engineering-economic systems and a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University.

About Denmark West

Denmark West comes to BET Networks from MTV Networks, where he most recently served as Executive Vice President and Chief of Operations, Global Digital Media, for MTVN since January 2007. He helped to oversee all digital operations for the company and coordinated e-commerce and digital marketing across MTVN's properties. West also led the team focused on strategic partnerships with large traditional software, hardware and network infrastructure companies such as Adobe, and was the primary leader in driving search initiatives, including the company's partnership with and implementation of Yahoo!'s search marketing services.

Prior to that, West was Executive Vice President, Strategy and Business Operations, where he was a key driver behind MTVN's movement into the multiplatform consumer environment. Before joining MTV Networks, he most recently held the title of Chief of Staff for the Windows Client Division at Microsoft Corporation in Redmond, Wash. Before that, he held a number of positions at Microsoft in which he helped to drive numerous strategic initiatives, investments and partnerships to help the company expand into, and grow within, new consumer avenues, including console gaming, digital media, e- commerce, wireless data and interactive TV.

Before joining Microsoft, West worked in Distressed Securities trading in the Fixed Income Division at Goldman, Sachs and Co. Prior to that, West worked in investment banking focused on Entertainment, Communications and Technology for Brenner Securities Corporation and Smith Barney. He received both an AB and an MBA from Harvard University.

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 85 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 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, a service venture into the lucrative world of ringtones, games and video content for wireless devices; and BET International, an extension of BET network programming for global distribution.

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Source: BET Networks

CONTACT: Jeanine Liburd of BET Networks, +1-212-846-7437,
jeanine.liburd@bet.net

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

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Profile: International Entertainment