BET announces a weekend of HIV-themed programming for World AIDS Day

(November 27, 2006) BET today announced a lineup of special HIV-themed programming to commemorate World AIDS Day on Friday, December 1, 2006. The cable network's 2006 World AIDS Day programming line-up concludes a successful year of grassroots efforts, screenplay competitions, and a special "25 Heroes" public service announcements (PSA) menu that highlighted the 25 years of extraordinary people battling the epidemic. Since 1998, BET and the Kaiser Family Foundation, through their Rap-It-Up partnership have worked to inform and raise awareness about HIV/AIDS, which disproportionately impacts African Americans.

Kicking off the special World AIDS Day weekend line-up is BET's popular music countdown show “106 & Park: BET'S Top 10 Live” on Friday, December 1 at 6:00 p.m. ET/PT with a LIVE 90-minute telecast. Produced in partnership with Kaiser, and hosted by hot veejay duo Terrance & Rocsi, the LIVE music special will tackle the issue of HIV/AIDS and the risky behaviors associated with contracting the disease. The program will also feature celebrity guests and health experts to address healthy life choices and provide important information about HIV testing and prevention methods to viewers.

Throughout World AIDS Day, BET News will air special 60-second HIV-tagged news briefs entitled "Red Blood, Green Dollars and Black Skin" that touch on the impact of HIV/AIDS throughout Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America and the United States, and features interviews with celebrities and HIV advocates including Alicia Keys, Richard Gere, Magic Johnson and Marvelyn Brown among others. The cable network will also provide special HIV-themed online content on http://www.bet.com/ including informative articles about the disease and treatment; exclusive BET News video reports; and interactive components such as an "Online Diary of an HIV+ dater," chats with doctors, and online quizzes & polls.

Special HIV-themed episodes of the “Girlfriends” sitcoms -- that were developed as part of the KNOW HIV/AIDS initiative, a joint venture between CBS Corp. and Viacom in partnership with Kaiser -- leads the Saturday primetime lineup on December 2 at 9:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. respectively; followed by a special one-hour broadcast of the BET News' special “The Download Exposed” at 10:00 p.m., which takes a probing look into the undercover world of men who openly lead heterosexual lives but secretly engage in sex with other men.

The provocative special also examines various risky behaviors contributing to the spread of HIV/AIDS including sex among men in prison; the "don't ask, don't tell" policy among the Black community; and the overall risk of HIV/AIDS that exists for the female partners of men who secretly partake in the "down low" lifestyle. Authors Terri McMillan and J. L. King are also featured in the special documentary, detailing their personal experiences related to the "down low" phenomenon.

Rounding out the cable networks' World AIDS Day weekend lineup is the Rap- It-Up short film, LET'S TALK, the 2nd winning film from the BET, Kaiser Family Foundation and Black AIDS Institute's 2005 Rap-It-Up film competition airing on Sunday, December 3 at 1:00 p.m. The poignant short film which features Lamman Rucker and Jillian Reeves, tells the story of beautiful, intelligent, soulful Essence, a teacher and spoken word poet, who becomes involved with Maurice, a handsome and socially conscious teacher at a school for the deaf. As their relationship evolves, the issue of HIV testing raises a new level of discussion between them.

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