BET Networks Remakes Live TV With Groundbreaking 106 & Park App For iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad

NEW YORK, March 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- BET Networks today unveiled the most interactive television App the U.S. has ever seen for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad that is now available on the App Store. Developed as a companion to the wildly successful music countdown and variety program of the same name, the App allows fans to enjoy a deeper and more interactive experience who have it open while the show airs every weekday from 6:00-8:00 P.M.*106 & PARK is dedicating the entire week of March 28 to the launch of the App, where it will introduce a new key feature every day.

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"This App is the first of its kind to fully integrate a real-time mobile user audience with a live TV show," said Denmark West, President of Digital at BET Networks. "We wanted to create a meaningful socially integrated experience that captures the spirit of the 106 & PARK show, the pulse of youth culture."

106 & PARK attracts an average of 791,000 viewers per day – many of whom are early adopters of technology and heavy users of smartphones.

The 106 & PARK App includes several groundbreaking features, including: 

• Location-based 'Fame Lottery' – Users logged into the app will appear on the "106 Nation" live heat map on the show's set. Hosts zoom into a city and call one lucky app user in that city.
• 'Twitter Wall' – Users can pan around to see who is watching the show and what they're saying about today's trending topic. Users can also post Tweets which have the chance to be read live on the air. 
• Mobile barcodes – Users can unlock special content and prizes by scanning the "Code106" mobile barcodes that appear regularly during the show. 
• Amateur competition voting – Users can vote for their favorite performer and see how individual votes stack up against the rest of the country's in real-time. 
• Countdown video voting – Users scratch a record like a DJ to rack up votes for their favorite countdown video. The more a user plays, the more votes are cast. 

The 106 & PARK App also contains over 70 artist bios, each containing articles, photos, videos and recent Tweets. High-quality video clips from previous 106 & PARK episodes are also available within the App for users to enjoy. 

A powerful presence in the music and entertainment industry, 106 & PARK has been the #1 music variety show on cable for the past 14 consecutive quarters among adults 18-49, according to the Nielsen Company, and has been integral in launching the careers of numerous hip-hop and R&B artists.

The 106 & PARK App is available for free from the App Store on iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, or at www.itunes.com/appstore.

*All times ET/PT

About BET Networks

BET Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: 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.

SOURCE BET Networks