Beyonce To Kick Off Her North American Tour At The BET Experience At L.A. LIVE On Friday, June 28, 2013 At STAPLES Center As The BET Awards Expands To An Electrifying Weekend Festival In Los Angeles, June 28 - 30

NEW YORK, Feb. 4, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- BET Networks, the foremost entertainment brand for the African-American audience, and AEG, one of the leading entertainment companies in the world and developer/ operator of L.A. LIVE have teamed up to create a one-of-a-kind event, the BET EXPERIENCE AT L.A. LIVE (BETX), June 28 - 30, 2013.   The month of June will be a scorcher in Los Angeles, CA as the BET Experience takes over L.A. LIVE for three days and nights of music and comedy concerts, film screenings, "106 & PARK" tapings, BET Fan Fest, seminars, BET GRAMMY® Museum exhibit, various social events and celebrity appearances.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20070716/BETNETWORKSLOGO ) 

Beyonce, in the first stop on her North American tour, is set to headline the first of the three-night STAPLES Concert series on Friday, June 28.  Each night will feature comedy showcases, mega concerts from STAPLES Center and late night soul performances at Club Nokia.  Before Beyonce's performance in STAPLES, Mike Epps brings his comedy game to the Club Nokia stage, while Erykah Badu captivates the late night crowd in Club Nokia after Beyonce's highly anticipated performance.  On Saturday, June 29, Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, Miguel and Schoolboy Q headline at STAPLES Center and Club Nokia will feature an exclusive session with The Roots.  On Sunday, Kirk Franklin curates a morning Gospel celebration at Club Nokia.  R. Kelly, New Edition and The Jacksons close out the Staples Center Concert Series following the Super Bowl of Black Entertainment; the BET AWARDS broadcasting live from Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE. This year's BET AWARDS promises to be bigger and better as it recognizes the successes of artists, entertainers, and athletes in an array of categories. 

"This is the next step in our evolution of the BET AWARDS weekend.  I am proud to say that what we have planned is the greatest celebration of music, entertainment, and culture and I'm thrilled to have Beyonce kick off our festivities," said Debra Lee, Chairman and CEO of BET Networks.  "We are pleased to have the perfect partner in AEG to pull off our inaugural BET Experience."

"We are proud to be working in partnership with BET to create and co-host the first annual BET Experience at L.A. LIVE, said Timothy J. Leiweke, President and CEO, AEG.  "No other organization would have the vision, the brand, the assets, the imagination or the creativity to design such an all-encompassing celebration than our friends at BET under the inspired leadership of Debra Lee.  We look forward to welcoming the thousands of fans from all over the U.S. that will come to Los Angeles and L.A. LIVE to attend this one-of-a-kind tribute and celebration."

"When the world thinks of stars they think of Los Angeles," said Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. "And this June we are happy to welcome the stars of Black Entertainment to our City for the BET Experience.  Every year the show honors those actors, musicians and comedians who touch our souls and bring joy to our lives."

Tickets for all announced shows and a limited amount of special VIP packages for the BET Experience will go on sale on Monday, February 11, 2013 beginning at 1 p.m./EST, 10 a.m./PST via BETExperience.com and AXS.com.  STAPLES Center three-night packages start as low as $199.  Single-night tickets are also available. Special VIP packages will offer fans the ultimate "insider access" with exclusive VIP tickets, hospitality and star-studded events.  VIP packages are the only way to purchase BET Awards tickets, available for the first time for purchase. Additional artists will be announced in the coming weeks. 

In addition to concerts, comedy shows and the BET Awards, the BET Experience at L.A. LIVE will feature:

"106 & PARK" Stage: "106 & PARK," the number one music countdown show, brings the livest audience to their exclusive stage in Nokia Plaza L.A. LIVE throughout the weekend with free musical performances, new talent showcases and celebrity appearances.

Music Matters Stage: This free outdoor stage will showcase up-and-coming artists associated with the BET Music Matters initiative, which has introduced BET Awards show-stopping, GRAMMY® winning, chart-topping new talent to the world including Melanie Fiona, Marsha Ambrosius, and Luke James.

BET GRAMMY® Museum Exhibit: A special curated exhibit of past BET Awards Lifetime Achievement Honorees will be staged at L.A. LIVE's GRAMMY® Museum during the weekend.    

BET Revealed Seminars: BET presents celebrity-filled seminars featuring real talk on money, culture, entertainment, family, celebrity and relationships at the JW Marriott L.A. LIVE.

BET Experience Film Fest: BET's first ever film fest will showcase a diversity of films – studio releases, narratives, documentaries and shorts.  Curated with Urbanworld and taking place at Regal Cinemas L.A. Live, this will be a "people's film festival" with no cost to event attendees.

The Fan Fest: An interactive expo that invites guests to engage with their favorite BET shows, talent and their favorite brands through exhibits, demonstrations and giveaways.  The Fan Fest includes a BET pavilion; a diverse food experience with soul food and other regional cuisines; Wolfgang Puck stations and a culinary stage; plus a community and exhibitor village.   

After Parties:  The hottest outdoor and late-night parties featuring great DJ's, celebrity appearances and much more.

The official host hotels for the BET Experience are the JW Marriott and The Ritz-Carlton at L.A. LIVE.  The BET Experience will offer special rates to consumers at more than 20 other hotels in the downtown Los Angeles, Hollywood and Beverly Hills areas.  

BET Experience partners include the Los Angeles Tourism and Convention Board, JW Marriott Los Angeles, L.A. LIVE, The Ritz-Carlton, Los Angeles, The City of Los Angeles, The GRAMMY® Museum, and Urbanworld Film Festival.

All information about the BET Experience can be found at BETExperience.com.  Consumers can purchase tickets and sign up for the BET Experience newsletter to receive updates and announcements before they are available to the public.  Follow the Experience on Twitter @betexperience.

About BET Networks
BET Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: 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.

About BET Awards

The BET AWARDS is one of the most watched award shows on cable television according to the Nielsen Company.  The BET AWARDS franchise remains as the #1 program in cable TV history among African-Americans, and it is BET's #1 telecast every year.  It recognizes the triumphs and successes of artists, entertainers, and athletes in a variety of categories. 

About AEG
AEG is one of the leading sports and entertainment presenters in the world. AEG, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Anschutz Company, owns or is affiliated with a collection of companies including more than 100 of the world's preeminent facilities such as STAPLES Center (Los Angeles), The Home Depot Center (Carson, CA), Best Buy Theater (Times Square, New York), Sprint Center, (Kansas City), Rose Garden Arena (Portland), Target Center (Minneapolis), Mercedes-Benz Arena (Shanghai, China), MasterCard Center (Beijing, China), O2 World Hamburg, Allphones Arena (Sydney, Australia), Ericsson Globe Arena (Stockholm, Sweden), O2 World Arena (Berlin, Germany) and The O2 arena and entertainment district (London, England), which are all part of the portfolio of AEG Facilities. Developed by AEG, L.A. LIVE is a 4 million square foot / $2.5 billion downtown Los Angeles sports, residential & entertainment district featuring Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE; Club Nokia; a 54-story, 1001-room convention "headquarters" destination; along with entertainment, restaurant and office space that officially opened in 2010. 

AEG Live, the company's live-entertainment division, is the world's second largest concert promotion and touring company, and is comprised of touring, festival, exhibition, broadcast, merchandise and special event divisions with fifteen regional offices.  AEG Global Partnerships, a division responsible for worldwide sales and servicing of sponsorships naming rights and other strategic partnerships.  In 2010, AEG launched its AEG 1EARTH environmental program with the announcement of 2020 environmental goals and the release of the industry's first sustainability report. And in 2011, AEG introduced AXS Ticketing, the first phase of its new entertainment platform serving as the company's primary consumer brand, which also will feature a mobile service as well as a video content service now in development. For additional information, visit www.aegworldwide.com.

About Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board
Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board is a private, nonprofit business association whose primary mission is to market and promote Los Angeles as the premier site for leisure travel, meetings and conventions. Though not part of City government, LA Tourism is recognized as the City's official tourism marketing organization. For more information, visit the official visitor information website of Los Angeles at www.discoverLosAngeles.com, www.facebook.com/LosAngelesFan or go to Twitter @tourismLA.

Follow us on Twitter @BET_PR

SOURCE BET Networks