BET has much to celebrate this Monday morning. The Viacom-owned company reached an impressive 3.7 million TV viewers and 31 million digital viewers with its virtual awards show that aired Sunday evening.
Celebrating its 20th year, the BET Awards was broadcasted on CBS this year, in addition to BET. CBS drew in 1.9 million of the 3.7 million viewers.
With the recent racial climate and COVID-19 stay at home orders, BET Awards would embrace a perfect storm that would give the annual show centerstage to not only be the conduit of the Black Lives Matter movement, but also an even more elevated platform to celebrate the excellence of black culture.
The network was able to pull off what seemed to be a seamless production with host Amanda Seales and some of the most thought-provoking performances from popular artists of our time, such as Jay Rock, Anderson .paak, Alicia Keys, John Legend, Lil Wayne and more.
In a recent memo to the leaders and supporters of Black Lives Matter, Bob Johnson, the founder of BET and RLJ Companies, he pushed for the organization to consider forming their own political party.
“By establishing an independent political party can become a force dedicated to advancing the permanent interests of 40 million Black Americans in this country. BLM is endowed with the hope and confidence of youth, fortified with the knowledge of what is wrong and what must be made right, and has the courage to challenge power, no matter what the risk. The purpose of this memo is to encourage you to harness these forces and think about what you have ignited and how it can and should, through the political process, cause America to truly live up to its belief in American exceptionalism and its promise of the American Dream for all.”
The BET Awards ’20 can be viewed on the BET website.
