NEW YORK, Oct. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- As the nation's most historic presidential election draws to an end, BET News announced it will be providing in-depth on-air and online coverage throughout Election Day on Tuesday, November 4. Through live coverage, news specials and up-to-the-minute news briefs, as well as on-air crawls throughout the day with result updates, BET News will engage and inform its audience with vital news, analysis and community response during the final day of Senator Barack Obama's historic run as the country's first African-American candidate for the presidency.

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On Wednesday, November 5, BET News will continue its celebration of Obama's historic race for the White House -- no matter what the outcome. In an unprecedented move, BET will suspend all regular programming and fill its schedule with inspirational Obama speeches, live news coverage, viewer call-ins, celebrity drop-ins, and more.

The following outlines BET's schedule of programming for the final days of the 2008 presidential election:

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 3

6:00-7:30 PM*

106 & PARK

Kirk Clay, Director of National Civic Engagement for the NAACP, will visit the show and advise viewers on voter rules and what to do if they have a problem at the polls.

10:00-11:00 PM*

THE FIRST BLACK PRESIDENT!?: WHAT OBAMA MEANS TO AMERICA

As Senator Barack Obama stands poised to become the first Black man in the White House, BET News will premiere this powerful special that asks the question on the minds of many viewers: What will an Obama victory mean for us? Gathering a wide range of voices -- from entertainers to political players -- this one-hour special explores African-American expectations of an Obama presidency, his race and the forces that have brought him to history's door.

-- Encore presentations: 11:00 a.m.*, 8:00 p.m.* and 11:00 p.m.* on Wednesday, November 5; 10:00 p.m.* on Sunday, November 9.

11:00 PM-12:00 AM*

WHAT'S AT STAKE: THE TOP 10 ISSUES FACING BLACK AMERICA BET News will also offer an encore presentation of this special, which delves into how the policies supported by both presidential candidates can, for better or worse, affect the lives of Black Americans.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4

6:00-8:00PM*

106 & PARK

BET News correspondents Sharon Carpenter, Andre Showell and Jina Johnson will provide updates from their respective locations (Sharon Carpenter from Senator John McCain's headquarters in Phoenix; Andre Showell from Obama's headquarters in Chicago; and Jina Johnson in Atlanta at an election event). The show will also continue to encourage people to the polls and will let them know it's not too late to vote, since most polls will still be open when the show begins.

BET host Alesha Renee and comedian Drew Fraiser will also hit the streets of New York City giving viewers five reasons (both serious and comedic) about why they must vote. The show will also encourage people to go to the polls.

8:00-11:00 PM*

BET NEWS: BE HEARD ELECTION 2008

BET News will provide LIVE updates and analysis of the day's events and activities. Jeff Johnson and a team of political strategists, special guests and BET News correspondents will provide context and analysis of both candidates' runs, as well as the latest developments on Election Day. The network will take LIVE reports from Jeff Johnson in the New York City studio; Jina Johnson in Atlanta at an election event; Pamela Gentry from the battleground state of Ohio; Andre Showell from Obama's headquarters in Chicago; and Sharon Carpenter from Senator John McCain's headquarters in Phoenix. BET News special contributors that evening will include: BET political analyst Keith Boykin; political pundits Jamal Simmons, Keli Goff and Angela McGlowan, and The New York Times editor Marcus Mabrey.

Also on Tuesday, November 4, BET News will feature:

-- Extended News Briefs: BET News correspondents will file reports on the latest voting information, while citing issues that will drive our community to the polls. They will also report on problems arising at polling booths and the recourse that can be taken. These 1:30 reports will put the historic nature of this election in context, while stressing the importance of our community's participation.

-- Election Day Promos: These promos will feature reactions from voters leaving the polls.

-- News Interrupts/Updates: Beginning at 9:00 a.m.*, BET News will have one-minute updates every hour. Starting at 8:00 p.m.*, we will begin updates at each segment break on the race, along with state-by-state poll projections

-- You(th) Vote! : From 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.*, BET News will air interstitials from Speak Out, a recent spoken word event hosted by BET News that focused on issues affecting young people.

-- Crawls and On-Air Messaging: Throughout the day, crawls will be provided with up-to-date information on voting. Messaging will provide up-to-the minute results.

ONLINE

-- BET.com will begin broadcasting BE HEARD: ELECTION 2008 on BET on Blast from 8:00 p.m.-12:00 a.m.*, promoting this early exclusive online segment via crawls throughout the day on-air. BE HEARD: Election 2008 online will throw to the on-air edition.

-- BET.com Blogs - Pamela on Politics, You(th) Vote, celebrity blogger actress Jurnee Smollett, and a hip-hop artist (TBD) on our Hip Hop vs. America blog.

-- BE HEARD Upload - BET.com visitors will be able to upload videos showing their voting experience, problems, etc. at their voting locations. BET News will also run these uploaded videos as part of its hourly updates.

-- BET.com will also feature an area were voters can report voting problems, submit video and send in messages about their experiences. In addition, the site will offer celebrity interviews and reactions to the election results.

ADDITIONAL COVERAGE

Speeches and Specials: BET News will also show encore presentations of its election specials and the noteworthy campaign speeches that were previously aired earlier in the election cycle. The following is the schedule of the specials and speeches:

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4

-- 11:00-11:30 PM*: RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT (Obama's June 2008 speech when he became the presumptive Democratic nominee)

-- 11:30 PM-12:00 AM*: YES WE CAN (Obama's speech after the New Hampshire primary)

    -- 12:00-1:00 AM*: A MORE PERFECT UNION (Obama's speech on race)

    -- 1:00-2:00 AM*: I ACCEPT (Obama's DNC 2008 speech)

    -- 2:00-2:30 AM*: JOURNEY TO THE WHITE HOUSE (BET News special)

    -- 2:30-3:00 AM*: DREAM: 45 YEARS LATER (BET News special)

    -- 3:00-3:30 AM*: OBAMA AND THE BLACK VOTE (BET News special)

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 5

-- 9:00-11:00 AM*: BET NEWS: SALUTE TO OBAMA will feature a live panel discussion with celebrity call-ins/satellite reactions. Jeff Johnson and a team of political strategists, special guests and BET News correspondents will provide context and analysis of what Obama's run for the White House means -- regardless of the outcome.

-- BET will re-air its news specials and Obama's speeches throughout the day on Wednesday, November 5:

       -- 11:00 AM-12:00 PM*: THE FIRST BLACK PRESIDENT!?
       -- 12:00-12:30 PM*: JOURNEY TO THE WHITE HOUSE
       -- 12:30-1:00 PM*: DREAMS: 45 YEARS LATER
       -- 1:00-1:30 PM*: RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT
       -- 1:30-2:00 PM*: YES WE CAN
       -- 2:00-3:00 PM*: OBAMA'S ELECTION NIGHT SPEECH
       -- 3:00-3:30 PM*: FIRST LADY SPEECH (Michelle Obama's DNC 2008 speech)
       -- 3:30-4:00 PM*: DNC 2004 SPEECH
       -- 4:00-5:00 PM*: I ACCEPT
       -- 5:00-6:00 PM*: OBAMA'S ELECTION NIGHT SPEECH
       -- 6:00-8:00 PM*: 106 & PARK ELECTION COVERAGE
       -- 8:00-9:00 PM*: THE FIRST BLACK PRESIDENT!?
       -- 9:00-10:00 PM*: OBAMA'S ELECTION NIGHT SPEECH
       -- 10:00-11:00 PM*: A MORE PERFECT UNION
       -- 11:00 PM-12:00 AM*: THE FIRST BLACK PRESIDENT!?
       -- 12:00-1:00 AM*: OBAMA'S ELECTION NIGHT SPEECH
       -- 1:00-3:00 AM*: BET NEWS: SALUTE TO OBAMA
       -- 3:00-3:30 AM*: FIRST LADY SPEECH
       -- 3:30-4:00 AM*: DNC 2004 SPEECH

    *All times ET/PT

For more on BET Networks' 2008 presidential election coverage, please visit www.bet.com/beheard.

About BET Networks

BET Networks, a division 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 87 million households according to Nielsen Media Research, and can be seen in the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean. 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; BET Digital Networks -- BET J, BET Gospel and BET Hip Hop, attractive alternatives for cutting-edge entertainment tastes; BET Event Productions, a full-scale event management and production company; BET Home Entertainment, a collection of BET-branded offerings for the home environment including DVDs and video-on-demand; BET Mobile, which provides ringtones, games and video content for wireless devices; and BET International, an extension of BET network programming for global distribution.

SOURCE BET Networks