“BET AWARDS" 2026 GROWS ACROSS EVERY PLATFORM WITH FIRST-TIME HOST DRUSKI, CEMENTING BET AS THE EPICENTER OF BLACK CULTURE

Culture's Biggest Night Grew in Every Direction: Digital Views Up +187%, 9.3M Social Interactions, Livestream Impressions Up +173%, BET Media House Minutes Up +172%, and Record-Breaking BETX Crowds Topping 50K

The Highest-Rated "BET Awards" on BET Since 2019 Among P18-49

LOS ANGELES, CA – July 2, 2026 – The “BET Awards” 2026 drew its biggest and most engaged audience in years, posting year-over-year growth across television, social, digital, and live experiences. Hosted by award-winning comedian, entertainer, and cultural sensation Druski, and driven by the support of the community it was built to serve, Culture's Biggest Night delivered numbers that underscore a simple truth: no brand convenes culture and community like BET.

The 'BET Awards' 2026 was the product of a community that turned out in force, filling the arena, dominating the online cultural conversation, and gathering across a full weekend of live events to celebrate its own. Across every measure, the results tell a single, consistent story: the culture came home.

TOP HIGHLIGHTS

• Social & Digital: The #1 most social program across all of television, with 9.3M interactions and day-of-show views up +187% year-over-year.
• Red Carpet Live: Livestream views up +152% and impressions up +173% year-over-year across YouTube.
• Television: The highest-rated "BET Awards" on BET since 2019 among P18-49, with P18-49 impressions up +50% year-over-year.
• BET Experience Live Events: More than 50K attendees across a record-breaking BET Experience weekend.
• BET Media House: Minutes watched up +172% year-over-year.

"The strength of the BET brand is that it lives at the very center of Black culture, and this weekend proved it once again," said Louis Carr, President of BET. "When a brand stays this deeply connected to its community and commits to a show that truly resonates, growth follows everywhere, across television, social, digital, and live experiences. These results are what that connection makes possible. BET convenes culture and community better than anyone, and that position is ours alone."

“Our team poured everything into a show built to honor the culture at the highest level," said Connie Orlando, EVP, Specials, Music Programming & Music Strategy, BET, and Executive Producer of the "BET Awards." "From the performances to the tributes to every moment in between, we set out to create a night that felt like home for our community, and to see it resonate this powerfully means everything. I am immensely proud of the artists, the crew, and the entire team who brought Culture's Biggest Night to life."

"BET AWARDS" 2026: YEAR-OVER-YEAR GROWTH
The "BET Awards" grew across the board versus year ago, led by dramatic gains among young viewers and a franchise-record encore.

• P18-49 Impressions on BET up +50% versus Year Ago (624K vs. 415K), with the Coverage Rating up +71% (1.458 vs. .853).
• 2.6MM P2+ viewers across 12 Paramount networks, up +18% on EDAC Impressions versus Year Ago, including 1.4MM P2+ viewers on BET alone, up +22%.
• 1.03MM P18-49 viewers across 12 Paramount networks, up +31% on EDAC Impressions versus Year Ago.
• Growth was led by young women, with W18-34 up +106% and W18-24 up +144%.
  The immediate encore delivered triple-digit gains versus year ago, with P18-49 Coverage Rating up +245%, Impressions up +205%, and Total Viewers P2+ Impressions (587K) up +168%.
• NPR's Tiny Desk made its debut as the lead-in to the "BET Awards" 2026 with Bow Wow's performance, up +40% on P18-49 Coverage Rating versus Year Ago (up +23% in Impressions).
• The "BET Awards" 2026 ranked as the highest-rated BET Awards on BET since 2019 among P18-49*, and as the #1 entertainment telecast on all of television for the day among P18-49 (excluding sports).

Source: Nielsen Big Data+Panel* | BET Awards night 6/28/26 v. YAGO (6/9/25) | Total EDAC viewership based on sum of average IMPs across the 12 network simulcast | Program rankings based on IMPs (>15 min duration) | *Claim for highest rated broadcast on BET based on Big Panel+Panel coverage rating data since established currency (2023); Prior year coverage ratings based on Panel only

SOCIAL & DIGITAL
The community's engagement surged well beyond the broadcast, driving "BET Awards" to the center of the national conversation with exponential year-over-year growth across every major social and digital platform.

• Day-of-show digital performance was strong across the board, with total views up +187%, total engagements up +232%, and total watch time up +9% year-over-year, led by social platforms. (Source: DOMO | BET Awards 2026 Social and O&O Pacing, as of 6.30.26. Based on activity date. Subject to change due to social platform delays.)
• The "BET Awards" ranked as the #1 most social program across all of television, with 9.3M interactions (broadcast and cable combined).
• BET ranked as the #1 most social network across all of television (broadcast and cable combined). (Source: Talkwalker, SCR, 6.28.26)
• #BETAwards was the #1 most trending topic on X for 12 consecutive hours in the U.S. and 7 consecutive hours worldwide. Additional U.S. trending topics included #Druski, #OlandriaxBETAwards, #Kehlani, #BowWow and #LaurynHill. (Source: Trends24, 6.28.26)
• The show placed among Google's Top-5 most searched topics, with Lauryn Hill at #2 and BET Awards at #5. (Source: Google Trends, 6.28.26)

2026 BET AWARDS "RED CARPET LIVE!" PRESENTED BY HYUNDAI AND McDONALD'S
Ahead of the live show, the 2026 BET Awards "Red Carpet Live!" Presented by Hyundai and McDonald's, grew livestream viewership across YouTube by +152% in views, +160% in minutes watched, and +173% in impressions year-over-year. (Source: YouTube Analytics, 6.28.26, based on first 24 hours.)

BET EXPERIENCE
Long before the cameras rolled, the community made its presence felt, packing a weekend of BET Experience events that shattered attendance records across the board and turned Los Angeles into the epicenter of the culture.

• More than 50K attendees across the weekend's BET Experience events.
  Celebrity Basketball, which moved to USC, drew more than 4K attendees, the largest crowd ever for a BETX Celebrity Basketball game.
• FanFest welcomed more than 30K attendees over two days, making it the largest event in The Beehive's history (previous peak: 10K).
• The Hollywood Bowl show featuring The Roots and Nas sold out again, with more than 17K attendees.
• On digital, BETX content delivered year-over-year growth across the board, with video views up +6%, engagements up +5%, and minutes viewed up +5%.

BET MEDIA HOUSE
Ahead of "BET Awards" 2026, BET Media House, the industry's premier multi-platform partnership anchored by sponsor Procter & Gamble, united 38 media partners across podcasts, social platforms, and syndicated and local radio into a single real-time content ecosystem, driving standout year-over-year growth with minutes watched up +172%. (Source: DOMO | BET Awards 2026 Social and O&O Pacing, as of 6.30.26. Based on activity date.)

Across broadcast, digital, social, and live experiences, "BET Awards" 2026 stood as a testament to the strength of the community and the enduring pull of the culture, the forces that made it the highest-rated BET Awards on BET since 2019.

Connie Orlando, EVP of Specials, Music Programming and Music Strategy, serves as Executive Producer for "BET Awards" 2026 and Perri Camper Rivers serves as Producer for BET. Jesse Collins Entertainment is the production company for the show, with Jesse Collins, Dionne Harmon, and Jeannae Rouzan-Clay also serving as Executive Producers.

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ABOUT “BET AWARDS”
“BET Awards” is one of the most-watched award shows on cable television according to the Nielsen Company. The “BET Awards” franchise remains the #1 program in cable TV history among African-Americans, and it is the #1 telecast for BET every year. It recognizes the triumphs and successes of artists, entertainers, and athletes in a variety of categories.

About Jesse Collins Entertainment
Founded in 2012, Jesse Collins Entertainment (JCE) is a full-service Emmy-winning production company that has played an integral role in producing many of television's most memorable moments in music entertainment.  JCE's award-winning and critically acclaimed television includes programming from its four divisions—specials, sports, scripted and unscripted. From the specials division: award shows—The Emmy Awards, iHeart Radio Music Awards, The 2021 and 2022 American Music Awards, The 2022 Golden Globes, BET Awards, Soul Train Awards, BET Hip Hop Awards, Black Girls Rock!, BET Honors, UNCF's An Evening of Stars and ABFF Honors; specials—Jimmy Fallon's Holiday Seasoning Spectacular, Christmas in Rockefeller Center, The Light We Carry: Michelle Obama & Oprah Winfrey (Primetime Emmy Award nominee), Grace For The World: Live from St. Peters Square, A GRAMMY Salute to 50 Years of Hip Hop, Lil Rel Howery: I said it. Y'all thinking it., CNN's Juneteenth: A Global Celebration of Freedom, Martin: The Reunion, John Lewis: Celebrating A Hero, Love & Happiness: An Obama Celebration, Change Together: From The March On Washington To Today, A GRAMMY Salute to the Sounds of Change, Stand Up for Heroes, Dear Mama, Amanda Seales: I Be Knowin', Def Comedy Jam 25, Leslie Jones: Life Part 2, Leslie Jones: Time Machine, The All-Star Nickmas Spectacular and Rip the Runway. From the sports division: Beyoncé Bowl at the Baltimore Ravens vs. Houston Texans NFL 2024 Christmas Game (Primetime Emmy Award winner), The Super Bowl Halftime Show (Primetime Emmy Award winner), The 95th Major League Baseball All-Star Game Pre-Game Show, The 2025 World Series Game 1 Anthem, NFL Detroit Lions Thanksgiving Day Halftime Show starring Jack White and Netflix’s Snoop’s Holiday Halftime Party. From the scripted division: scripted series—Real Husbands of Hollywood, American Soul and miniseries—The New Edition Story and The Bobby Brown Story. From the unscripted division: unscripted series – Heart & Hustle: Houston, Tia Mowry: My Next Act, Gabrielle Union: My Journey to 50, Oh Hell No! With Marlon Wayans, Cardi Tries, My Killer Body with K. Michelle, DJ Cassidy's Pass the Mic and Forward: The Future of Black Music, competition series—Hollywood Squares, Rhythm + Flow, Celebrity Squares, Becoming A Popstar, Sunday Best, Hip Hop Squares and Nashville Squares, talk shows – We Got Time Today, Yara Shahidi's Day Off and Face to Face with Becky G, and children's series—Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices (Daytime Emmy Award winner).  Emmy Award winner Jesse Collins is the Founder & CEO of Jesse Collins Entertainment and executive producer of all JCE programming. He is also an executive producer for the annual GRAMMY Awards and produced the 2021 Oscars. Emmy winner Dionne Harmon is President. Emmy nominee Jeannae Rouzan-Clay is Senior Vice President of Specials.

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BET Awards Media Contacts
Mercedes Smith
Mercedes.Smith@bet.net

Autumn Griffin
Autumn.Griffin@bet.net

Erica Knox
Erica.Knox@bet.net