BET Awards show gives network the boost it needs

The annual awards showcase black talent.
By ED BARK
DALLAS MORNING NEWS
It's older than CNN, MTV, Lifetime or A & amp;E, and has been entrenched for decades on the country's major cable systems.
BET (Black Entertainment Television) otherwise has little to show for itself in the more than 24 years since its January, 1980 birth date. It has yet to produce a notable first-run scripted comedy or drama series, instead banking heavily on a cost-cutting menu of music videos, standup comedy shows, well-worn feature films, infomercials and repeats of broadcast network sitcoms such as UPN's "The Parkers."
That makes Tuesday night's BET Awards '04 both an aberration and a welcome effort to put the network on the prime-time map at least once annually. Hosted by "Parkers" star Mo'Nique and originating from Hollywood's Kodak Theatre, the live, three-hour show is being touted by BET as a "star power-infused 'black-out.'"
Star power
OutKast, Usher and Janet Jackson are among the A-listers scheduled to perform. Actor Danny Glover will receive the show's Humanitarian Award, and The Isley Brothers are being honored for career achievement.
Winners in 14 other categories will be announced live, with OutKast, Beyonc & eacute;, Usher, Ruben Studdard, Lil Jon and Kanye West among those with multiple nominations.
Athletic prowess also is in the mix. The "Male Athlete of the Year" category has an intriguing quintet of rookies LeBron James and Carmello Anthony and veterans Barry Bonds, Tiger Woods and Shaquille O'Neal, who for once won't have to contend with Kobe Bryant.
The show again is being helmed by Pierre Cossette, who has produced CBS' Grammy Awards telecasts for more than 30 years. In other words, it's all in the family. CBS, BET and UPN all are owned by Viacom, Inc.
Unpredictable Mo'Nique
Mo'Nique, hosting for the second year, is without a steady job after UPN's recent cancellation of "The Parkers." Perhaps BET could remedy that by paying whatever it takes for her to star in the network's first original scripted comedy or drama series. And maybe Mo'Nique could speak to that subject by throwing a few jabs at the network's long-standing malaise during her opening monologue on Tuesday's big show. BET programming executive Stephen Hill has already primed the pump in press materials.
"Who knows what she will do, but who cares?" he says of Mo'Nique. "We know that she is going to bring it. This time she's got ammo that she's not even telling us about. And we love that!"
We'll see what kind of heat she packs.