BET Rolls Out a Night of Original Programming with the BET News Special 'Beauty Blackout' and the Critically Acclaimed Series 'Keyshia Cole: The Way It Is'

BET Rolls Out a Night of Original Programming with the BET News Special 'Beauty Blackout' and the Critically Acclaimed Series 'Keyshia Cole: The Way It Is'

NEW YORK, May 14/PRNewswire/ --

- PREMIERING MONDAY 26 MAY AT 8:30 P.M. AND 9:00 P.M. ON SKY 209

Visit any newsagent and you'll see that almost exclusively there are scores of blonde and brunette, white women gracing the covers of Britain's biggest magazines. Whether its fashion, beauty or lifestyle titles; British magazines rarely feature women of color in their pages, which is a telltale symptom of much larger disease plaguing England's multi-cultural society. In the first ever news special for its audiences in the United Kingdom, BET reveals that people of colour in the U.K. are experiencing a "Beauty Blackout."

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

Premiering Monday, 26 May at 8:30 p.m., BET News correspondent Sharon Carpenter speaks with stars like Jamelia, Alesha Dixon, Nicola Hughes (Rock Rivals, Porgy and Bess) , as well as industry opinion-formers like Britain's Next Top Model judge Gerry Deveaux and other insiders; for a look at the colour-challenged fashion and glamour modeling industry from all perspectives. The special also delves into the disturbing ways in which England's beauty ideal affects average women and young girls in their everyday lives.

Carole White, co-founder of Premier Model Management admits, "We'll have a load of castings where they'll say -- 'no black girls'." Through this timely and comprehensive news show, BET brings to the forefront these important issues facing the British Black community regarding standards of beauty, the impact it has on women of colour, and the troubling reasons why "mainstream" British society has never considered black women beautiful.

                                  - later on BET Sky 209-  

To conclude this huge night, at 9:00 p.m., we bring you the UK premiere of "Keyshia Cole: The Way It Is" BET's #1 original series of all time. Season one of this six-part reality series documents the life of R&B songstress Keyshia Cole just before she breaks big. For several months, Keyshia granted BET special access into her private life as she traveled the country, revealing personal details of her un-charmed past and the promising future ahead of her. "Keyshia Cole: The Way It Is" gives one-of-a-kind insight into the world of one of music's most captivating and complex rising stars.

For up-to-the-minute and archival press information including releases and photographs, visit BET's press-only Web site at http://www.bet.com/pr.

About BET Networks

BET Networks, a division of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: 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 87 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 business 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.

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

Source: BET International

Michelle Clark, +1-212-205-3158, michelle.clark@bet.net, or Bernadette Simpao, +1-212-205-3154, bernadette.simpao@bet.net, both of BET-NY; or Donna Morgan for BET-UK, +44-(0)-208-318-0040, donna@glenyearwoodgroup.com. Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070716/BETNETWORKSLOGO AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com

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Profile: International Entertainment