Press Release

DJ Khaled Tops with Six Nominations While Kendrick Lamar Takes Five, Followed by Migos and SZA with Four

"BET Awards" 2018 to Air Live on Sunday, June 24 from Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles at 8 P.M. ET

@BETAWARDS #BETAWARDS

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- BET Networks, a unit of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIA.B sted NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), today announced the nominations for the "BET Awards " 2018 taking place at Microsoft Theater on Sunday, June 24.

The culturally-charged, performance-driven, thought-provoking show returns for its 18th year and as with previous years is expected to turn out a show like no other. DJ Khaled dominates this year's nominations with a total of 6 including ‘Video of the Year,' two for ‘Best Collaboration,' with Rihanna and Bryson Tillerfor ‘Wild Thoughts,' and with Jay-Z, Future and Beyoncéfor ‘Top Off,' ‘Album of the Year,' and ‘Coca-Cola Viewer's Choice.' Kendrick Lamar follows with five nods including ‘Best Collaboration,' with Rihanna for ‘Loyalty.,' ‘Video of the Year,' ‘Album of the Year,' and ‘Coca-Cola Viewers' Choice.' Other leading nominees include Migos, nominated for four awards including ‘Best Group,' and ‘Album of the Year," and SZA, also nominated for four awards, including ‘Best Female R&B/Pop Artist' and ‘Best New Artist.'

The iconic broadcast continues to tackle culturally relevant topics and conversations, delivering some of the most memorable moments in Award show history. In 2017, Bruno Mars opened the show with a funky, energetic performance of his hit "Perm," then returned to the stage moments later to accept his first-ever BET Awards win for Best Male R&B/Pop Artist, XSCAPE reunited for the first time in eighteen years to perform a medley of hits, "Understanding," "Who Can I Run to," and, "Just Kickin' It," Yara Shahidivoiced the importance of supporting blackness and thanked BET for celebrating black culture so beautifully while accepting the YoungStars Award, and Michelle Obamaand BET Chairman Debra Leeintroduced Chance the Rapper who gave an impassioned speech after receiving the evening's Humanitarian Award. The "BET Awards" raises the standard, year over year, for one of the most intently unconventional, news-provoking and talked-about broadcasts.

BET Networks recognizes artists, entertainers, and athletes across over 19 categories with the "BET Awards" 2018 nominations. The nominations are selected by BET's Voting Academy, which is comprised of fans and an esteemed group of entertainment professionals in the fields of television, film, music, social media, digital marketing, sports journalism, public relations, and the creative arts.

The complete list of nominees for the "BET Awards" 2018 are:

Best Female R&B / Pop Artist Award
BEYONCÉ
SZA
H.E.R.
RIHANNA
KEHLANI

Best Male R&B / Pop Artist Award
BRUNO MARS
CHRIS BROWN
THE WEEKND
KHALID
DANIEL CAESAR

Best Group Award
MIGOS
A TRIBE CALLED QUEST
N.E.R.D.
RAE SREMMURD
CHLOE X HALLE

Best Collaboration Award
BRUNO MARS FEAT. CARDI B				FINESSE (REMIX)
DJ KHALED FEAT. RIHANNA & BRYSON TILLER				WILD THOUGHTS
DJ KHALED FEAT. JAY-Z, FUTURE &BEYONCÉ				TOP OFF
CARDI B FEAT. 21 SAVAGE				BARTIER CARDI
FRENCH MONTANA FEAT. SWAE LEE				UNFORGETTABLE
KENDRICK LAMAR FEAT. RIHANNA				LOYALTY.

Best Male Hip Hop Artist Award
DRAKE
KENDRICK LAMAR
DJ KHALED
JAY-Z
J. COLE

Best Female Hip Hop Artist Award
CARDI B
NICKI MINAJ
REMY MA
DEJ LOAF
RAPSODY

Video of the Year Award
DRAKE				GOD'S PLAN
CARDI B				BODAK YELLOW
BRUNO MARS FEAT. CARDI B				FINESSE (REMIX)
DJ KHALED FEAT. RIHANNA & BRYSON TILLER				WILD THOUGHTS
KENDRICK LAMAR				HUMBLE.
MIGOS FEAT. DRAKE				WALK IT TALK IT

Video Director of the Year Award
BENNY BOOM
DIRECTOR X
AVA DUVERNAY
CHRIS BROWN
DAVE MEYERS

Best New Artist Award
SZA
H.E.R.
DANIEL CAESAR
GOLDLINK
A BOOGIE WIT DA HOODIE

Dr. Bobby Jones Best Gospel/Inspirational Award
LECRAE FEAT. TORI KELLY				I'LL FIND YOU
SNOOP DOGG FEAT. B SLADE				WORDS ARE FEW
LEDISI & KIRK FRANKLIN				IF YOU DON'T MIND
MARVIN SAPP				CLOSE
TASHA COBBS LEONARD FEAT. NICKI MINAJ				I'M GETTING READY

The Best International Act Award
BOOBA (FRANCE)
CASSPER NYOVEST (SA)
DADJU(FRANCE)
DAVIDO(NIGERIA)
DISTRUCTION BOYZ (SA)
FALLY IPUPA (DR CONGO)
J HUS (UK)
NISKA (FRANCE)
TIWA SAVAGE (NIGERIA)
STEFFLON DON (UK)
STORMZY (UK)

Best Actress Award
TIFFANY HADDISH
LUPITA NYONG'O
ISSA RAE
ANGELA BASSETT
LETITIA WRIGHT
TARAJI P. HENSON

Best Actor Award
CHADWICK BOSEMAN
MICHAEL B. JORDAN
DONALD GLOVER
STERLING K. BROWN
DENZEL WASHINGTON
DANIEL KALUUYA

Young Stars Award
YARA SHAHIDI
ASHTON TYLER
CALEB MCLAUGHLIN
LONNIE CHAVIS
MARSAI MARTIN
MILES BROWN

Best Movie Award
BLACK PANTHER
GIRLS TRIP
A WRINKLE IN TIME
DETROIT
MUDBOUND

Sportswoman of the Year Award
SERENA WILLIAMS
VENUS WILLIAMS
SKYLAR DIGGINS-SMITH
CANDACE PARKER
ELANA MEYERS TAYLOR

Sportsman of the Year Award
STEPHEN CURRY
LEBRON JAMES
KEVIN DURANT
DWYANE WADE
ODELL BECKHAM JR.

Album of the Year Award
DAMN.				KENDRICK LAMAR
CTRL				SZA
4:44				JAY-Z
CULTURE II				MIGOS
BLACK PANTHER: THE ALBUM				KENDRICK LAMAR & VARIOUS ARTISTS
GRATEFUL				DJ KHALED

BET Her Award
JANELLE MONAÉ				DJANGO JANE
LIZZO				WATER ME
MARY J. BLIGE				STRENGTH OF A WOMAN
REMY MA FEAT. CHRIS BROWN				MELANIN MAGIC (PRETTY BROWN)
CHLOE X HALLE				THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT
LEIKELI47				2ND FIDDLE

Coca-Cola Viewers' Choice Award
SZA FEAT. TRAVIS SCOTT				LOVE GALORE
CARDI B				BODAK YELLOW
KENDRICK LAMAR				HUMBLE.
DRAKE				GOD'S PLAN
MIGOS FEAT. CARDI B & NICKI MINAJ				MOTORSPORT
DJ KHALED FEAT. RIHANNA & BRYSON TILLER				WILD THOUGHTS

The "BET Awards" 2018 will premiere around the world on BET's international networks. It will air in the UK on June 26th at 9:00PM BST, in Africa on June 26th at 8:00PM CAT, in France on June 26th at 9:00PM CEST and in South Korea on June 26th at 9:00PM KST. Internationally, fans in 100 countries can also stream the "BET Awards" 2018 live with BET Play, BET International's subscription video on demand application. The iOS and Android app, which also features current and classic BET television series, documentaries, stand-up comedy and legendary musical performances, will carry a live feed of the red carpet and the Awards, and is available for download now in the iTunes and Google Play stores for $3.99 a month following a seven-day free trial.

Connie Orlando, Executive Vice-President, Head of Programming at BET will serve as Executive Producer for the "BET Awards 2018" along with Jesse Collins, CEO of Jesse Collins Entertainment.

To apply for media credentials for the "BET Awards" 2018 please head to www.betpressroom.com

The "BET Awards" 2018 will take place along with the BET Experience at L.A. LIVE in Los Angeles from June 21-24, 2018. BET.com/betawards is the official site for the "BET Awards" and will have all the latest news and updates about this year's show. VIP Packages for the 6^th year of the BET Experience weekend are better than ever and now on-sale. In addition to VIP amenities throughout the weekend and incredible seats for STAPLES Center shows, all levels of BETX VIP Packages offer guests the only opportunity to purchase tickets to the highly-anticipated BET Awards, broadcast live from Microsoft Theater. Full package amenities and pricing for the Diamond, Platinum, Gold Plus and Gold VIP Packages can be found by visiting BETExperience.com or by calling (877) 234-8425.

General tickets for the BET Experience at L.A. LIVE presented by Coca-Cola® are on sale now at http://www.axs.com/betexperience.

Follow us @BET_PR AND @BETAWARDS

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 African-American Woman; BET Music Networks - BET Jams, BET Soul and BET Gospel; BET Home Entertainment; BET Live, BET's growing festival business; BET Mobile, which provides ringtones, games and video content for wireless devices; and BET International, which operates BET around the globe.

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 JESSE COLLINS ENTERTAINMENT
Jesse Collins Entertainment is a full service television and film production company founded by entertainment industry veteran Jesse Collins. For more than a decade, Collins has played an integral role in producing some of television's most memorable moments in music entertainment. Formerly Executive Producer/EVP of Cossette Productions, Collins has produced ground-breaking and award winning television programming including the BET Awards, the GRAMMY Awards, Soul Train Awards, BET Honors, UNCF An Evening of Stars, ABFF Awards and the BET Hip Hop Awards. Collins is an executive producer of the hit TV series, Real Husbands of Hollywood starring Kevin Hart and the upcoming original miniseries based on the iconic music group New Edition that will debut on BET in 2017. He has worked with a myriad of superstar talent including Will Smith, Chris Rock, Jay-Z, Rihanna, Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Prince and Mariah Carey. Follow Jesse Collins Entertainment @JesseCollinsEnt on Twitter and Instagram and go to http://www.jessecollinsent.com/ for more information on the company.

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