Carsluttin' Music Fiend: Music

Queen Latifah, Bruno Mars, Ledisi, Justin Bieber, Gladys Knight, Nicki Minaj, Taraji P. Henson, Ne-Yo, & La La Anthony Added to the BET AWARDS '11 List of Exceptional Talent

BET'S "106 & PARK" HEADS TO LOS ANGELES TO SHOWCASE LIVE RED CARPET PERFORMANCES FROM MIGUEL, SWIZZ BEATS & EVE, LIL TWIST, MINDLESS BEHAVIOR WITH TYGA, YC, LLOYD, DIGGY SIMMONS, & INTERNET SENSATION KARMIN HOSTED BY TERRENCE, ROCSI, & NICK CANNON

Hosted by Comedian Kevin Hart / LIVE! Sunday, June 26 at 8 p.m.*

LOS ANGELES, June 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Queen Latifah, Bruno Mars, Ledisi, Justin Bieber, Gladys Knight, Nicki Minaj, Taraji P. Henson, Big Sean, and Ne-Yo join previously announced stars Beyonce, Mary J. Blige, Patti LaBelle, Steve Harvey, Kelly Rowland, Trey Songz, Lil Wayne, Drake, Chris Brown, Alicia Keys, Cee Lo Green, Jill Scott, Rick Ross, Ace Hood, DJ Khaled, La La Anthony, Shirley Caesar, Donnie McClurkin, Mary Mary, Deitrick Haddon, Faithful Central Choir, Music Matters artists Mali Music and Kimberly Nichole, and host Kevin Hart at this year's BET AWARDS '11.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110517/NE04026LOGO-b )

Nick Cannon will join 106 & PARK hosts Terrence and Rocsi for "Live Red and Ready," a LIVE red carpet edition of 106 & PARK. Before Kevin Hart kicks off the Awards show from inside LA's Shrine Auditorium at 8 p.m.*, viewers will be treated to special, pre-show performances outside by Miguel, Swizz Beatz & Eve, Lloyd, Lil Twist, Diggy Simmons, YC, Mindless Behavior with Tyga, and Internet sensation Karmin, along with exclusive celebrity interviews, beginning at 6 p.m.* on BET. 106 & PARK former hosts Free and Tigger will host the BET AWARDS '11 post-show, "The After Party Live," directly following the Awards telecast on Sunday, June 26 at 11 p.m.*

For the first time in BET AWARDS history, the BET AWARDS '11 Social Media Lounge will be integrated into the LIVE broadcast. Hosted by La La Anthony, the Social Media Lounge will provide viewers with up-to-the-second BET AWARDS '11 updates from Twitter and Facebook along with exclusive celebrity interviews.

For continuous BET AWARDS '11 updates and to view a complete list of Awards nominees, please visit: www.bet.com/BETAWARDS, www.twitter.com/BETAWARDS (hash tag: #BETAWARDS) and Facebook fan page at www.facebook.com/TheBETAWARDS.

*All times are ET/PT.

About BET Networks:

BET Networks, a subsidiary 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 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 25- to 54-year-old African-American audience; BET Digital Networks - 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 Event Productions, a full-scale event management and production company with festivals and live events spanning the globe; 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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Jun 23, 2011 4:47:31 AM | Current Affairs, Entertainment, Film, Music, Music Marketing, Television, Video

06/11/2011

Black Broadcast CEO Gains Two TV Stations in Local Viewing Area (Hampton Roads!) via Black Gospel Promo

		New Journal and Guide

Black Broadcast CEO Gains Two TV Stations In Local Viewing Area

By Leonard E. Colvin - Chief Reporter

A local broadcasting executive is working on launching three small low-powered television stations in Hampton Roads which will be owned and operated by African Americans.

Mike Chandler, the CEO of the 40-station radio network REJOICE Musical Soulfood Network, has acquired three 25,000 WATT TV stations which are located in Hampton, Myrtle Beach and Virginia Beach from the Christian-based Trinity Broadcast Network (TBN).

When the stations are up and operating, they will be owned by REJOICE TV, LLC Television Broadcasting Company, and Chandler will be CEO.

The three stations will be part of a 12-station network owned by the Rejoice Musical Soulfood network, according to Chandler, who owns and operates Hampton Roads' gospel music station Rejoice WFMI 100.9.

"Our plan is that once we perfect what we are doing, we will launch a national faith-based network," said Chandler. "We have to become owners. We in the faith-based industry have to do something to recapture our airwaves. We need to own record labels, distributorships, TV stations, etc., and that is what I am trying to do."

The network of stations Chandler is talking about were among 155 low-powered TV stations of 50,000 watts or less that TBN sold or gave away to the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council (MMTC). Chandler said MMTC coordinated the sale of the stations, in most instances, for 10 cents on the dollar.

Jean Robinson, a spokesperson for the MMTC, said many of the stations are up and operating, some are not. She told the New Journal and Guide last week that as in the case of the three stations now owned by Chandler, the new owners are working to get them operating by the end of the summer.

A spokesperson for REJOICE TV, LLC said the new station locally should be operational by fall. He said the company has finalized the acquisition of the stations and is working on licensing and other FCC requirements.

The three stations will have to be upgraded to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) "digitized" broadcast standards. All television stations operating in the United States were required to digitize their broadcast signals several years ago. Most televisions manufactured today are digital, allowing them to pick up the digitized signals of most TV stations without being hooked up to a cable network.

Most of the stations were transferred to minority owners, many of whom are not running broadcast companies which are faith-based like Chandler's.

MMTC is a national non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and preserving equal opportunity and civil rights in the mass media telecommunications and broadband industries.

The efforts by MMTC, Robinson agreed, would increase the level of minority ownership of television stations nationally. According to figures released by the National Association of Black-owned Broadcasters, African Americans own 245 AM and FM radio stations and just eight television stations.

Over the past 15 years, African Americans have been losing ground in the area of radio and TV station ownership, as large corporations buy up minority-owned stations across the nation of various sizes and merge them into their networks.

Jun 11, 2011 2:33:13 AM | Current Affairs, Entertainment, Music, Music Licensing and Distribution, Music Marketing