Nearly 4 Million Viewers On Board For 'Soul Train Awards' Telecast

By R. Thomas Umstead
published

BET and Centric's simulcast of The 2010 Soul Train Awards last night drew 3.9 million combined viewers.

The special, hosted by actors Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henson, fell just short of the 4 million viewers who tuned into BET to watch last year's Awards show. (Centric also aired the show but was not Nielsen-rated at the time.)

The Soul Train Awards, which honored the careers of legendary artists Anita Baker and Ron Isley, finished as the top BET telecast in fourth quarter 2010 and the number one telecast on Centric for the year, according to BET officials.

Among the celebrities appearing during the prime-time special were R. Kelly, Erykah Badu, Michael Baisden, Bruno Mars, Jazmine Sullivan, Eric Benét, Fonzworth Bentley, Just Blaze, Kid Capri, Chilli, Keyshia Cole, El DeBarge, Faith Evans, Kim Fields, Cee Lo Green, Steve Harvey, Ray J, Tom Joyner, Kem, Biz Markie, Ne-Yo, Keisha Knight Pulliam, Lamman Rucker, Raven-Symoné, SWV, and CNN's Wolf Blitzer.

A list of the Soul Train Awards winners can be found here.

R. Thomas Umstead
R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.