VIACOM INTERNATIONAL MEDIA NETWORKS TO LAUNCH FIRST BET CHANNEL IN ASIA

Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN) announced the launch of the first BET Channel in Asia, through a partnership with SK Broadband (SK), a major Pay-TV operator in South Korea with 4.2 million subscribers. BET is currently viewed in more than 125 million homes in over 60 countries around the world, including the United States, the UK, France, Africa, Canada and the Caribbean.  South Korea is the first Asia market to launch BET, the leading provider of quality entertainment, music, news and public affairs television programming for people who want to know what’s hot, what’s next and what matters in urban black culture. Effective September 26^th, BET is available on “B tv”, SK’s linear service as well as oksusu, SK’s over-the-top (OTT) streaming service. Subscribers will be able to enjoy multi-platform viewing with digital simulcast and catch-up TV options for selected programmes.

“The introduction of the BET Channel in Asia is a key step in strengthening our presence both in South Korea and in Asia, while expanding our portfolio of adult-targeted brands. It will not only add content diversity to Korean Pay-TV, but offer top-quality general entertainment, music and news for audiences interested in urban culture,” said Paras Sharma, Senior Vice President and General Manager for Southeast Asia & Head of Digital Media, Asia.

This year’s BET Awards 2017 marked the first time an Asian artist was nominated in the awards. South Korean hip hop rapper Changmo, was included in the “International Viewers’ Choice Award” category.

“We’re proud to be the first to offer BET in Asia as well as in South Korea, and to make it the first urban channel available to our subscribers across multiple screens. We believe the BET channel will find a fan base among Korean youth who are globally recognised as fashion and cultural trendsetters – similar to the BET audience,” said Mr. HyungHee Lee, CEO.

BET has a breadth of formats that includes talk shows, reality programming, films, documentaries and awards programmes. In South Korea, the channel offerings will include a mix of international shows like Being Mary Jane, The Wendy Williams Show, 50 Central, and Face Value, in addition to award shows like BET Awards, Black Girls Rock, The Hip Hop Awards (which will air on BET Korea on October 14^th at 9:50pm KST), and local productions from South Korea.