The BET Hip-Hop Awards and Soul Train Awards are suspended, with no clear timetable for their return. Two of the most important award shows for Black music have been paused. Network CEO Scott Mills explained the decision in an interview with Billboard, where he mentioned stagnant ratings and financial pressure as the reasons for pulling the plug.
“I would assure everyone who cares about BET that it will continue to be here for our community,” says Mills. “We’re all committed to that.”
When asked about the end of the two beloved awards shows, Mills elaborated on his vision.
“I would say that it’s less about them being no longer and more about our team having to reimagine them for this changing media landscape that we find ourselves in,” he explained. “I think what we’re going to see are more people taking franchises and saying, ‘This might have started on linear television, but now I’m going to move it to another space. Do I move it to streaming? Or do I move it to another platform?’ So for BET linear, we have suspended the Soul Train and Hip-Hop award shows. But we have a team that’s actively thinking about where those award shows might best live as the media climate continues to evolve. They aren’t gone. And we also still have the NAACP Image Awards and the Stellar Awards.”
The 2025 BET Awards aired live from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles back in June; with host Kevin Hart, a nostalgic salute to the 2000s and appearances from Jamie Foxx, Snoop Dogg and Kirk Franklin. But even for “Culture’s Biggest Night,” the ratings were not what they’d been the previous year.
“Viewership was down,” Mills says. “However, the cable ecosystem is smaller today than it was a year ago. That’s just the reality of it. But more importantly, I give [executive vp/head of specials, music programming and music strategy] Connie Orlando and the creative team incredible credit for delivering an amazing 25th anniversary BET Awards show. I’ve been in the BET ecosystem for the full 25 years that we’ve been doing the show. My seat mate at this year’s show was Stephen Hill, the young man who, 25 years ago, created the BET Awards. At the end of it, he turned to me and said, “This is one of the best BET Awards I’ve ever seen.”
Mills says the other awards shows aren’t gone, and added that he felt tinkering with things like the night the BET Awards typically air contributed to the show’s ratings decline.
“It was an extraordinary show,” Mills acknowledged. “And honestly, I attribute the viewership declines less to the declines in the cable ecosystem and more to the fact that we moved the night of the show. It typically has aired at the end of June on a Sunday. This year, we moved the show to the beginning of June and on a Monday. What you’ll see in 2026 is us moving it right back to its traditional location, the last Sunday in June. And we’ll bring the BET festival back as well. It’s very complementary to the core of that whole weekend experience.”
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