New York, NY (June 10, 2014) – BET Networks continues to add some of the biggest names in entertainment to their lineup of presenters and performers for the “BET Awards.”  Actress, Kerry Washington will make her first, much anticipated TV appearance at this year’s festivities and singer Robin Thicke will perform a new single sure to entertain the crowd.

Pharrell Williams, Usher, Jennifer Hudson, Lil Wayne, Trey Songz and Lionel Richie are among the names set to perform on this year’s show. 

Emmy and Grammy® Award winning comedian Chris Rock will host the “BET Awards,” live on Sunday, June 29, 2014 at 8pm ET on BET from the Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE in Los Angeles, CA. The “BET Awards” will premiere internationally on BET’s international network on July 1st, 2014 at 8:00pm GMT (Check local listings).

The BET Experience App which will return as the ultimate tool to help attendees get the most out of the BET Experience at LA Live.  The BET Experience App features full weekend schedule of events, real-time news and updates from the BET Experience, and hourly giveaways to major events such as nightly concerts, VIP after-parties and the “BET Awards”. Users can download the free BET Experience App now from the App Store for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad, or Google Play for Android users.

A full list of the “BET Awards” 2014 nominations is now available at www.BET.com.

Stephen G. Hill, BET’s President of Music Programming and Specials and Lynne Harris Taylor, BET’s Vice President of Specials, will serve as Executive Producers for the “BET Awards,” along with Jesse Collins, CEO of Jesse Collins Entertainment.

The “BET Awards” will take place along with the BET Experience in Los Angeles from June 27-29th. BET.com/Awards is the official site for the “BET Awards” and will have all the latest news and updates about this year's show. All information about the BET Experience at L.A. LIVE presented by Coca-Cola® can be found at BETExperience.com.  The BET Experience VIP Package offers the only way to purchase a “BET Awards” ticket, great seats to 3 nights of concerts at the Staples Center, and exclusive access to events at the free Fan Fest. For more information and to purchase tickets, go to BET.com/BETExperience. Follow the Experience on Twitter @betexperience.
# #
# # #

ABOUT BET NETWORKS
BET Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: 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.

BET EXPERIENCE AT L.A. LIVE
BET Networks, an entertainment powerhouse, and AEG, one of the leading entertainment companies in the world and developer/ operator of L.A. LIVE, have teamed up once again to create the BET EXPERIENCE AT L.A. LIVE (BETX), June 27 - 29, 2014 presented by Coca-Cola.   This three-day festival will be filled with music and comedy concerts taking place at Club Nokia and STAPLES Center; “106 & PARK” tapings in Nokia Plaza L.A. LIVE; BET Fan Fest at the Los Angeles Convention Center including seminars, celebrity basketball games, celebrity meet & greets; GRAMMY® Museum exhibits and other special appearances.  The weekend will be capped off with the “BET Awards” on Sunday, June 29, 2014 at Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE.

ABOUT “BET AWARDS”

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

ABOUT JESSE COLLINS ENTERTAINMENT:
Jesse Collins Entertainment is a full service television and film production company founded by entertainment industry veteran Jesse Collins.  For more than a decade, Collins, the company’s CEO, has played an integral role in producing some of television’s most memorable moments in music entertainment.  Formerly Executive Producer/EVP of Cossette Productions, Collins has produced ground-breaking and award winning television programming including the BET Awards, the GRAMMY Awards, BET Honors, The UNCF Evening of Stars and the BET Hip Hop Awards. Collins currently Exec. Produces “The Real Husbands of Hollywood,” (now going into its 4th hit season) alongside industry Icons Stan Lathan and Ralph Farquhar; and has worked with superstar talent such as Will Smith, Chris Rock, Jay-Z, Rihanna, Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Prince, Mariah Carey and many more.

About AEG
AEG is one of the leading sports and entertainment presenters in the world. AEG, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Anschutz Company, owns or is affiliated with a collection of companies including over 100 of the world’s preeminent facilities such as STAPLES Center (Los Angeles, CA), StubHub Center (Carson, CA), Best Buy Theater (Times Square, New York), Mercedes-Benz Arena (Shanghai, China), Allphones Arena (Sydney, Australia), Brisbane Convention and Entertainment Center and The O2 arena and entertainment district (London, England).  Developed by AEG, L.A. LIVE is a 4 million square foot / $3 billion downtown Los Angeles sports, & entertainment district featuring Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE, Club Nokia, the Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE Stadium 14 theater, 19 restaurants the GRAMMY Museum and a 54-story, 1001-room convention "headquarters" hotel/destination.  In addition to overseeing privately held management shares of the Los Angeles Lakers, assets of AEG Sports include franchises such as the LA Kings, LA Galaxy and Houston Dynamo and the Amgen Tour of California cycling stage race.  Along with AEG Facilities, other global divisions include AEG Live, the world’s second largest concert promotion and touring companies comprised of touring, festival, exhibition, broadcast, merchandise and special event divisions and AEG Global Partnerships, responsible for worldwide sales and servicing of sponsorships, naming rights and other strategic partnerships.  In 2010, AEG launched its AEG 1EARTH environmental program featuring the industry's first sustainability report while in 2011, AEG introduced AXS a comprehensive entertainment platform serving as the company’s primary consumer brand including AXS Ticketing which provides fans the opportunity to purchase tickets directly from their favorite venues via a user-friendly ticketing interface, Examiner.com and the AXS TV network. For additional information, visit www.aegworldwide.com

# # #
Follow us @BET_PR

BET NETWORKS
Marcy Polanco
212.975.3327
Marcy.Polanco@BET.net

Zabrina Horton
310.481.3737
Zabrina.horton@BET.net

SLATE PR
Shawn Purdy / Lindsey Brown
212.235.6813 / 212.235.6814
shawn@slate-pr.com / lindsey@slate-pr.com