admin @ Fri, 2006-03-03 09:00
BET Networks is pioneering yet another ground-breaking evolution in television programming. Jazz, the purest and oldest form of American music, has both chronicled and celebrated the African-American journey. Today Jazz is seen, heard and felt in a number of related genres including blues, soul, R&B, Caribbean and neo-soul music. African-American adults want to engage in this even more today, which is why BET Jazz is evolving effective March 1 into the new BET J. Now available on DirecTV through its first satellite TV carriage agreement, BET J reflects these powerful cultural roots, and the overall diversity of music and culture today.
"The African-American community looks to BET to reflect the culture, and in doing so they have come to expect innovation and diversity in programming under our BET Networks brand," said BET Chairman and CEO Debra L. Lee. "We are happy to respond and to evolve to meet their needs."
"BET Jazz was one part of a journey which now will deliver an even broader cross-section of African-American culture," said Paxton Baker, Executive Vice President and General Manager for BET Digital Networks. "We've long been the catalogers and chroniclers of a great artistic voyage that has been authentically Black and authentically BET at every turn. Our new chapter under BET J will be even more exciting, enticing and multicultural. In fact, the ‘J' in our new network name is now more indicative of the complete musical and cultural ‘Journey' rather than only jazz.
DirecTV is launching BET J to continue its tradition of providing the most exciting and unique programming for its customers. BET J is available on Channel 330 on DirecTV's Total Choice Plus programming package. MTV Networks negotiated this new carriage agreement as part of its Affiliate Sales and Marketing representation of BET Networks. With the DirecTV launch, BET J has built a total distribution platform that reaches approximately 21 million homes. In addition to DirecTV, other distributors already carrying BET Jazz that will now offer the revamped channel for viewers include Charter Communications, Cablevision, Comcast, Cox Communications and Time Warner Cable.
"We are thrilled to expand our partnership with DirecTV and provide their customers with another unique programming offering," said Nicole Browning, President, Affiliate Sales and Marketing, MTV Networks.
"We're proud to be a part of the BET J evolution and to add what we know will be an enormously popular network to the DirecTV programming lineup," said Dan Fawcett, Executive Vice President, Programming Acquisition, DirecTV, Inc. "Music has played a key role in a number of our new programming initiatives this year and BET J will add an exciting dimension to that with its eclectic mix of musical and cultural content."
• INFLUENCES – An intimate chat with contemporary soul and R&B artists about the influence that traditional jazz has had on their music. Artists such as Floetry, Dwele, and Meshell Ndegeocello will not only reveal the musicians and vocalists who have influenced their music but will go even deeper, explaining how life experiences and world events have shaped their musical journey.
• VIDEO SOUL GOLD – A classic BET show from the past returns as Donnie Simpson hosts VIDEO SOUL GOLD, a weekly trip down memory lane. VIDEO SOUL was a BET mainstay and Donnie Simpson held down the fort showcasing hot new artists and their videos to an audience hungry to see themselves reflected on the small screen. The "Green-Eyed Bandit" returns in this vintage series that connects with old and new viewers alike.
• MY TWO CENTS – A topical talk show with five fresh and original voices discussing the issues of the day stitched together with Classic Soul & R&B videos. Issues will range from the light – discussing the latest celebrity hook-ups and break-ups of the moment – to the heavy – issues of race, skin color, sex and religion. With Kevin Powell, Selwyn Hinds, April Silver, Raquel Cepeda and Keith Boykin at the helm, this series will be charged with intense and riveting dialogue mixed with old and new school grooves from the likes of A Tribe Called Quest, Jill Scott, Anthony Hamilton, Floetry and more.
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