BET Awards

BET Awards
Current: BET Awards 2026
A BET Award from 2018
Awarded forOutstanding achievements in the entertainment industry
CountryUnited States
Presented byBET
First awardJune 19, 2001; 25 years ago (2001-06-19)
Websitehttp://www.bet.com/shows/bet-awards.html Edit this on Wikidata

The BET Awards are an American award show that was established in 2001, by the Black Entertainment Television network to celebrate Black entertainers and other minorities in music, film, sports and philanthropy. The awards, which are presented annually, are broadcast live on BET. The annual presentation ceremony features performances by artists; some of the awards with a higher profile are presented in a televised ceremony.

Trophy

The award trophy, inspired by three words (aspire, ascend, achieve), was designed by artist/sculptor Carlos "Mare139" Rodriguez. Outkast won the first award trophy during the first ceremony in 2001. In 2007, Society Awards, the New York firm who manufactures the award, enhanced the quality of the trophy design using plated steel and black crystal.

List of ceremonies

The inaugural ceremony was held at the Paris Las Vegas resort on the Las Vegas Strip in 2001. From 2002 to 2005, the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood hosted the awards. From 2006 to 2012, the ceremonies were held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. Since 2013, the ceremony has been held at the Peacock Theater at L.A. Live (previously Nokia Theatre and Microsoft Theater).

Most recent BET Awards winners
← 2024
2027 →
 
Award Album of the Year Video of the Year
Winner Clipse
Let God Sort Em Out		 Kehlani
"Folded"
 
Award Best New Artist Living Legend Icon Award
Winner Olivia Dean Lauryn Hill
# Date Venue Host city Host
1st June 19, 2001 Paris Las Vegas Las Vegas Steve Harvey and Cedric the Entertainer
2nd June 25, 2002 Kodak Theatre Los Angeles
3rd June 24, 2003 Mo'Nique
4th June 29, 2004
5th June 28, 2005 Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith
6th June 27, 2006 Shrine Auditorium Damon Wayans
7th June 26, 2007 Mo'Nique
8th June 24, 2008 D. L. Hughley
9th June 28, 2009 Jamie Foxx
10th June 27, 2010 Queen Latifah
11th June 26, 2011 Kevin Hart
12th July 1, 2012 Samuel L. Jackson
13th June 30, 2013 Nokia Theatre/
Microsoft Theater		 Chris Tucker
14th June 29, 2014 Chris Rock
15th June 28, 2015 Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross
16th June 26, 2016
17th June 25, 2017 Leslie Jones
18th June 24, 2018 Jamie Foxx
19th June 23, 2019 Regina Hall
20th June 28, 2020 Virtual show Amanda Seales
21st June 27, 2021 Microsoft Theater/
Peacock Theater		 Los Angeles Taraji P. Henson
22nd June 26, 2022
23rd June 25, 2023 N/a
24th June 30, 2024 Taraji P. Henson
25th June 9, 2025 Kevin Hart
26th June 28, 2026 Druski

Ratings

Year Day Date BET Cumulative Ref.
Household rating 18–49 rating Viewers
(in millions)		 18–49 rating Viewers
(in millions)
2001 Tuesday June 19 4.3 Unknown 5.20 No simulcast
2002 June 25 4.0 Unknown 4.40
2003 June 24 4.3 Unknown 5.50
2004 June 29 3.4 Unknown 5.60
2005 June 28 3.7 Unknown 6.58
2006 June 27 4.9 Unknown 6.60
2007 June 26 3.4 Unknown 6.39
2008 June 24 3.2 Unknown 5.85
2009 Sunday June 28 Unknown Unknown 10.65
2010 June 27 Unknown Unknown 7.40
2011 June 26 Unknown 3.3 7.71
2012 July 1 Unknown 3.2 7.42
2013 June 30 Unknown 3.4 7.77
2014 June 29 Unknown 3.1 7.50 Unknown 7.90
2015 June 28 Unknown 2.6 6.27 Unknown 6.50
2016 June 26 Unknown 1.9 4.50 4.3 7.20
2017 June 25 Unknown 1.5 3.83 3.5 5.80
2018 June 24 Unknown 1.2 2.87 1.8 4.30
2019 June 23 1.4 1.0 2.43 1.5 3.79
2020 June 28 Unknown Unknown 1.6 1.0 3.7
2021 June 27 Unknown Unknown 1.7 Unknown 2.4

Nomination process

The nomination process is provided by a voting academy consisting of about 500 people from the music industry, involving the media, and bloggers. BET sends ballots electronically and voters nominate deserving works and artists in all categories who they think should be nominated. Nominations and voting ballots are collated by Yangaroo, Inc., a leading digital distribution firm that works on many other televised award ceremonies, including those of BET's sister networks under parent company Paramount Skydance. The top nominees are determined in each category, and the winners are selected via the academy members' voting process.

Award categories

Current awards

Defunct awards

Special awards

The BET Lifetime Achievement, Humanitarian, Ultimate Icon, Living Legend Icon and Icon of the Year Award recipients, along with the nominees for other categories, are announced in a press release. At the awards ceremony, a mini-documentary is shown covering the honorees' career. The awards are presented separately.

Lifetime Achievement

The BET Lifetime Achievement Award is given a veteran artist or group who has made notable contributions to the music industry. The honoree is paid tribute by singers who perform the honoree's most recognized songs. The honoree would usually perform themselves after being paid tribute.

Humanitarian

In 2002, the BET Award Humanitarian Award was created. The Humanitarian Award is given to a celebrity philanthropist who donates their time and money to a charitable cause.

Ultimate Icon

In 2015, the Ultimate Icon Award was created. It is given to a veteran artist whose career is considered iconic by the public for their notable contributions in the music, dance and music video fields.

Living Legend Icon
Icon of the Year

Most nominated and winning artists

Below are the current rankings for the most wins and most nominated artist:

Most wins (as of 2024)

Rank 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th
Artist Beyoncé Kendrick Lamar Chris Brown Drake Serena Williams
Total wins 36 (with Destiny's Child and The Carters) 29 21 15 13

Most nominations (as of 2025)

The following lists multiple nominated performers, athletes and actors with five or more career nominations. Beyoncé is currently the most nominated performer with 102 nominations, solo and with Destiny's Child.[citation needed]

102 nominations (as of 2025)

65 nominations

51 nominations

37 nominations

35 nominations

33 nominations

31 nominations

23 nominations

21 nominations

19 nominations

18 nominations

17 nominations

16 nominations

15 nominations

14 nominations

13 nominations

12 nominations

11 nominations

10 nominations

9 nominations

8 nominations

7 nominations

6 nominations

5 nominations


See also

References

  1. ↑ "BET Awards". BET. Archived from the original on June 16, 2011. Retrieved 2025-07-31.
  2. ↑ "Carlos Mare aka Mare139 Prints and Original Art | 1xRUN". 1xRUN. Retrieved 2017-03-29.
  3. ↑ "Culture's Biggest Week Returns to L.A. With BET Awards and BETX Taking Over the City". BET. Archived from the original on February 11, 2026. Retrieved 2026-02-12.
  4. ↑ Tapp, Tom (2026-04-30). "Druski To Host The 2026 BET Awards". Deadline. Retrieved 2026-04-30.
  5. 1 2 3 "2003 BET Awards Rocket to Biggest BET Telecast Ever". BET. June 26, 2003. Archived from the original on June 27, 2019. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  6. ↑ "Top 15 Cable Programs - Total Households: Week of 06/28/04 - 07/04/04". Zap2it. Retrieved June 27, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  7. 1 2 Pucci, Douglas (June 26, 2018). "Sunday Final Ratings: BET Awards Has its Least-Watched Edition in 16 Years". Programming Insider. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  8. ↑ Fitzgerald, Toni (July 7, 2005). "Dance fever: ABC owns this summer". Media Life. Archived from the original on November 2, 2005. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  9. ↑ "'06 BET AWARDS Stakes Claim as Cable's Top Awards Show by Again Flexing Impressive Muscle With Viewers". BET. June 30, 2006. Archived from the original on June 27, 2019. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  10. ↑ "Cable Series by Total Households week of 06/25/07-07/01/07". Zap2it. Retrieved June 27, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  11. ↑ Seidman, Robert (July 1, 2008). "Nielsen Ratings Weekly Cable TV Top 20: WWE RAW Back on Top". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on July 3, 2008. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  12. ↑ "Jackson Tribute BET Awards Edges Jon & Kate Plus 8 To Lead Cable Shows". TV by the Numbers. June 30, 2009. Archived from the original on September 6, 2018. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  13. ↑ "The 'BET AWARDS '10 Remains The #1 Cable Awards Show, Drawing 7.4 Million Total Viewers". BET. June 28, 2010. Archived from the original on June 28, 2019. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  14. ↑ Seidman, Robert (June 28, 2019). "Sunday Cable Ratings: More 'True Blood' & 'Falling Skies,' + 'Kardashians,' 'Law & Order: CI,' 'The Glades' and Much More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on July 1, 2011. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  15. ↑ Kondolojy, Amanda (July 3, 2012). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'BET Awards' + 'True Blood', European Football, 'Keeping Up With the Kardashians', 'Real Housewives of NJ' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on July 6, 2012. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  16. ↑ Kondolojy, Amanda (July 2, 2013). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'BET Awards' Wins Night + 'True Blood', 'Dexter', 'Keeping Up With the Kardashians', 'Falling Skies' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on July 5, 2013. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  17. ↑ Kondolojy, Amanda (July 1, 2014). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'BET Awards' Leads Night + World Cup Soccer, 'True Blood', 'Keeping Up With the Kardashians', 'The Last Ship' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  18. 1 2 Stanhope, Kate (June 29, 2015). "TV Ratings: BET Awards Dip to 6.5 Million Viewers". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  19. ↑ Kondolojy, Amanda (June 30, 2015). "Sunday Cable Ratings: BET Awards Tops Night + 'True Detective', 'Ballers', 'Naked and Afraid' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on July 3, 2015. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  20. ↑ Porter, Rick (June 28, 2016). "Sunday cable ratings: 'Game of Thrones' scores series high with Season 6 finale". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on June 29, 2016. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  21. ↑ Patten, Dominic (June 27, 2016). "BET Awards Viewership Rises Over 2015 With Simulcast On 12 Viacom Nets". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  22. ↑ Porter, Rick (June 27, 2017). "Sunday cable ratings: BET Awards fall, 'Power' and 'Preacher' have solid premieres". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on June 30, 2017. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  23. ↑ Patten, Dominic (June 27, 2017). "BET Awards Ratings Fall From 2016, Both On Channel & Across Viacom Networks". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  24. ↑ Petski, Denise (June 25, 2018). "BET Awards Draws 4.3 Million Viewers". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  25. ↑ Pucci, Douglas (June 26, 2019). "Sunday Final Ratings: BET Tops All Key Prime Time Demos with BET Awards; Gold Cup Propels Univision Over All English-Language Broadcast Networks in Adults 18-49". Programming Insider. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  26. ↑ Metcalf, Mitch (June 25, 2019). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 6.23.2019". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on June 26, 2019. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  27. ↑ "TV Ratings: BET Awards Get a Boost from CBS". The Hollywood Reporter. June 29, 2020.
  28. ↑ "Ratings Release: The "Bet Awards" 2021, Dominates the Award Show Arena as the Best Performing Awards Show This Year". June 29, 2021.
  29. ↑ "Awards | YANGAROO". Yangaroo. 22 July 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
  30. ↑ "BET SELECTS YANGAROO'S DMDS TO POWER MAJOR AWARDS SHOWS". PR Newswire. 11 May 2011. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
  31. ↑ "YANGAROO Awards HAS GROWN TO BECOME INDUSTRY LEADER | YANGAROO". Yangaroo. 16 June 2016. Archived from the original on 22 June 2019. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
  32. ↑ Moniuszko, Sara M. "BET Awards: Beyonce to receive Humanitarian Award, Lil Wayne to honor Kobe Bryant". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2020-10-25.
  33. ↑ "Watch The Throne: 5 Artists with the Most BET Awards Ever". BET.com. Archived from the original on August 16, 2022. Retrieved 2020-10-25.
  34. ↑ Staff, BOTWC (2024-09-04). "43 Times Beyoncé Has Made History in Honor of Her 43rd Birthday". Because of Them We Can. Retrieved 2024-09-09.