Sunday’s ceremony, which celebrated 50 years of hip hop, drew in 1.8 million total viewers on BET alone, with its viewership culminating from its live simulcast across Paramount networks BET, BET Her, Comedy Central, MTV, MTV2, Pop, Nick at Nite, TV Land and VH1, according to Nielsen live-plus-same-day figures.
Culture’s biggest night also held down its top spot as the most-watched cable award show among adults 18 to 49. In conjunction with the 2023 show’s success alongside the “NAACP Image Awards,” BET secured itself as hosting the top two cable award shows for Black viewers in 2023.
“It was an extraordinary privilege to celebrate Hip Hop’s profound legacy and invaluable contributions to our culture,” BET CEO and president Scott Mills said in a statement. “It was beautiful to watch so many of the artists who have shaped Hip Hop and have been a part of BET’s history return to BET to celebrate Hip Hop on Culture’s Biggest Night. I am so proud of my team for delivering this powerful, authentic, and comprehensive celebration that has resonated so deeply with artists, fans, and audiences.”
The awards ceremony also scored big on social media platforms with 6 million social interactions, becoming the top most-watched TV show on social media and growing 104% as compared to last year. As the show aired, #BETAwards trended on Twitter in the top spot for over six consecutive hours worldwide, and digital views are currently totaling up to a 23% year-over-year boost to date.
“The audiences have spoken: Culture’s Biggest Night is now Hip Hop’s biggest night,” BET EVP of specials, music programming and music strategy Connie Orlando said. “We couldn’t have done it without our amazing production team and the talented group of artists who came together to give Hip Hop its flowers, and all the lovers of the culture who watched live that tuned in across every platform to make this year’s BET Awards 2023 another great success.”
BET will air an encore presentation of this year’s awards show on Thursday, June 29 at 10 p.m. ET/PT.
