BET Returns With Its Critically Acclaimed Hit Gospel Competition Show 'SUNDAY BEST' Premiering Sunday, March 8 at 9:00 p.m.*

BET Returns With Its Critically Acclaimed Hit Gospel Competition Show 'SUNDAY BEST' Premiering Sunday, March 8 at 9:00 p.m.*

SUNDAY BEST Rounds Out BET's Full Line-Up of Gospel Programming, Including 106 & PARK PRESENTS: GENERATION GOSPEL, CELEBRATION OF GOSPEL and BOBBY JONES GOSPEL

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- BET Networks ushers in the praise as SUNDAY BEST returns to the network for a stellar second season, premiering Sunday, March 8 at 9:00 p.m.* As gospel singing hopefuls from around the country audition for the title of Sunday Best, BET will continue to scour the country's storefront churches, parishes and mega-churches to find the best undiscovered singers in America.

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The first season of SUNDAY BEST finished on a high note, as the show's live season finale garnered a 1.3 BET Coverage rating with more than 1.2 million households and 1.7 million viewers tuning in to see who won the honor of being America's next great gospel singer.

SUNDAY BEST welcomes back as its host gospel great Kirk Franklin and judges multi-award winning siblings Erica and Tina Campbell of Mary Mary and Grammy Award-winning BeBe Winans.

Joining SUNDAY BEST this season is the debut of a brand new faith based music video show 106 & PARK PRESENTS: GENERATION GOSPEL premiering on Sunday, January 11 at 12:00 p.m.* BET's hit music countdown show 106 & PARK introduces its new weekly gospel spin-off with hosts Angel Taylor from the Stellar Award- winning gospel group Tri-ni-tee 5:7 and Jorel Quinn from the gospel hip-hop group 21:03. GENERATION GOSPEL will offer a live studio audience, chart- topping music gospel music videos, celebrity guests, interactive choir battles, exclusive packages and much more.

Also in January, the network returns with its ninth annual mega-hit CELEBRATION OF GOSPEL on Sunday, January 25 at 8:00 p.m.* The show is again hosted by veteran comedian, actor and popular syndicated radio personality Steve Harvey, who has hosted CELEBRATION OF GOSPEL since its inception. The latest installment in this extraordinary awards show franchise boasts performances from hip-hop pioneer LL Cool J, Mary Mary, Kirk Franklin, Smokie Norful & Heather Headley, Hezekiah Walker & LFC and Dr. Bobby Jones with the Nashville Super Choir and 21:03, just to name a few.

BET's longest-running gospel program BOBBY JONES GOSPEL returned Monday, October 5 for another divine season of uplifting performances and special appearances - all hosted by veteran gospel show host, Dr. Bobby Jones. This past fall marks the 28th season of BOBBY JONES GOSPEL, a long-standing staple among BET shows.

106 & PARK PRESENTS: GENERATION GOSPEL, CELEBRATION OF GOSPEL and BOBBY JONES GOSPEL are produced by Stephen Hill, President of Programming, BET Networks, Lynne Harris Taylor, Vice President of Specials, BET Networks and Marilyn Gill. The current season of SUNDAY BEST is executive produced by D'Angela Proctor Steed, Nia T. Hill and Brian Gadinsky.

   *All times ET/PT    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 98 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 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 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, which operates BET in the United Kingdom and oversees the extension of BET network programming for global distribution.

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Source: BET Networks

CONTACT: SUNDAY BEST, Zabrina Horton, +1-310-481-3737,
zabrina.horton@bet.net, CELEBRATION OF GOSPEL, Voncella McIntosh,
+1-310-481-3732, voncella.mcintosh@bet.net, 106 & PARK PRESENTS: GENERATION
GOSPEL, Tricia Newell, +1-212-975-8230, tricia.newell@bet.net, BOBBY JONES
GOSPEL, Lyntina Townsend, +1-202-608-2745, lyntina.townsend@bet.net

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

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Profile: International Entertainment