Samuel L Jackson, Michelle Obama, Regina Hall, Terrence J, President Barack Obama, Usher, Jill Scott, Jesse Williams, Angela Bassett, Common, Janelle Monae at BET's "Love & Happiness" concert (Photo: Business Wire) — Samuel L Jackson, Michelle Obama, Regina Hall, Terrence J, President Barack Obama, Usher, Jill Scott, Jesse Williams, Angela Bassett, Common, Janelle Monae at BET’s “Love & Happiness” concert (Photo: Business Wire)

The premiere telecast for BET’s Barack Obama “Block Party” (a.k.a “BET Presents Love & Happiness: An Obama Celebration”), which aired Tuesday, November 15th at 9:00 P.M. ET/PT, drew an average of 1.4 MM total viewers, and reached a Total Viewership of 4.2MM and 1.6MM P18-49 on its premiere night, making it BET’s #1 most watched program of the Calendar Year among P18-49 (excluding tentpoles).

The numbers were helped by a social media strategy that included:

· A partnership with Twitter that drove social media success as the 2-hour special held strong at the #1 spot on Twitter for over 4 hours, and the hashtag #ThankYouObama continued to trend until 4am EST on Wednesday morning.

· The social media initiative, #ThankYouObama, featured a series of video vignettes of celebrities completing the sentence “#ThankYouObama …” in a show of support for President Barack Obama. The @BET Twitter account published the videos throughout the day, while Twitter pushed out select videos via the @TwitterTV account.

· The special was the #1 Most Social Cable Program (excluding sports events) on Tuesday, November 15th.

· BET was the #1 Most Social Cable Television Network of ALL day parts on Tuesday, November 15th.

· On Facebook, the program was the #1 most social primetime cable special (excluding sports events) on Tuesday, November 15th, and has continued to trend on Facebook the following 2 days, 11/16 and 11/17.

· And per Giphy, gifs from the show generated 24.1M views in the 24-hour period after the premiere.

Show highlights included:

· Bell Biv DeVoe bringing The President and First Lady to their feet with an energizing performance of “Poison.”
· “Hamilton’s” Leslie Odom Jr. performing a Hamilton-esque rap honoring President Obama.
· Usher hitting the stage with his dance moves and #1 hits backed up by The Roots.
· Common and Yolanda Adams performing a soulful rendition of his Oscar winning song “Glory.”
· Janelle Monae channeling her inner James Brown with a performance of “Tightrope.”
· A Philly to New York to Chicago moment with the Roots, De La Soul, Common and Jill Scott.
. Also Samuel L. Jackson, Angela Bassett, Bradley Cooper and Jesse Williams shared poignant and personal thoughts about President Obama and what his legacy has meant to them.

Encore broadcasts of “BET Presents Love & Happiness: An Obama Celebration” are set for:

· Friday, 11/18 @ 7:50 PM ET/PT on BET
· Saturday, 11/19 @ 10:00 AM ET/PT on BET & Centric
· Sunday, 11/20 @ 11:25 AM ET/PT on BET

“Our country has been led for the past eight years by an extraordinary President and First Lady,” said Debra Lee, Chairman and CEO, BET Networks, in a statement prior to the special’s premiere. “We have all witnessed history in the making and I am humbled by this momentous opportunity for BET Networks to join the Obamas for this musical celebration.”

Watch a clip from the celebration below:

BET Presents Love & Happiness: An Obama Celebration

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