Even though BET’s Celebration of Gospel is doing well in the ratings, it appears to not be enough to keep the show from getting cancelled.
This year Celebration of Gospel had 2.6 million viewers tuning in when it premiered on April 6, making it the number one gospel/religious telecast on TV for 14 consecutive years.
A celebration of faith through music, this year’s special featured an all-star roster of performances including Tamela Mann, Kem,Yolanda Adams, Charlie Wilson, Lalah Hathaway, Zacardi Cortez, SWV, Candice Glover, Donnie McClurkin, Tasha Page Lockart, India.Arie, Jonathan McReynolds, Erica Campbell, Rance Allen Group, Tasha Cobbs, Tye Tribbett, Le’Andria Johnson and others.
Entertainment insider Jawn Murray tells PATH that despite its stellar ratings and continued success, BET revealed during their upfront presentation to advertisers in New York that “Celebration of Gospel” would not return as one of its “Mega-Specials.” The network is bringing back the “BET Awards,” “Black Girls Rock,” “BET Hip Hop Awards,” and “BET Honors.”
It is unclear why this decision was made, and whether or not the show could move to its much smaller sister network Centric.
Jawn Murray of AlwaysAList.com spoke to sources at BET who said they “had no idea” why the network has opted to cancel the top-rated special.
We reached out to a rep at BET for official comment on this story and at press time had not received a response.
There are several petitions online already from viewers asking BET to reconsider bringing the show back.
[…] will host the network’s annual Celebration of Gospel. The celebration will continue despite reports that BET planned to cancel the show in […]