BET Draws 4.1 Million For `Soul Train Awards’

BET’s Dec. 1 airing of the Soul Train Awards drew a record 4.1 Million viewers for the annual special, according to Nielsen.

The network easily bested last year’s 3.4 million viewership take for the show and posted a 20% year-to-year increase among adults 18-49, according to BET. The special, which featured performances from Jennifer Hudson, Chaka Kahn and Tamar Braxton, also drew 442,000 viewers for Centric, which simulcast the show with BET. For Centric, the special drew a record number of adult 25-54 viewers and garnered a 68% increase among adults 25-54, according to the network.

On the digital front, more than three times as many users visited BET.com on the day of the show compared to the day of the show a year prior, according to the network. Overall, 3.5 million people posted tweets about the The Soul Train Awards generating more than 21 million impressions, making it the second-biggest social media-driven show of the week behind the Dec. 1 episode of AMC’s The Walking Dead, according to Nielsen Twitter TV Ratings for Nov. 25 to Dec. 1. 

R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.