BET Holdings Embraces Romance.WASHINGTON, D.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 30, 1998-- Nation's Largest Black-Owned and Operated Media-Entertainment Company Purchases Arabesque arabesque (ărəbĕsk`) [Fr.,=Arabian], in art, term applied to any complex, linear decoration based on flowing lines. In Islamic art it was often exploited to cover entire surfaces. , an African American African American Multiculture A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa. See Race. Line of Romance Novels Arabesque, the only line of original African-American romance novels distributed by a major publisher, is now owned and operated by BET Holdings, Inc. BET purchased Arabesque from Kensington Publishing Corporation, the leading American publisher of romance novels and the second largest romance publisher worldwide. Arabesque's previous owner, Kensington Publishing Corporation was the first major publisher to introduce a romance line with African American heroes and heroines in July 1994. BET Holdings, Inc. has also secured the dramatic rights to Arabesque for possible television and original film development. Arabesque novels written by African-American authors have received outstanding reviews in newspapers nationwide. "The strength of the BET brand name combined with Arabesque's reputation for quality romance titles, creates significant growth opportunities within the African-American marketplace," said Debra Lee, President and COO of BET. "BET has a unique opportunity to expand the Arabesque book line through BET media properties which target black consumers including the BET network, the internet (MSBET MSBET Microsoft, Black Entertainment Television ),Heart & Soul, BET Weekend, Emerge magazine and BET's new fall season show, "Buy The Book." Kelli J. Richardson will serve as vice president and publisher of Arabesque. Prior to her new appointment, Richardson was vice president of brand marketing and licensing for BET Holdings, Inc. The authors who write for Arabesque feel the line is unique because African Americans now have the opportunity to see themselves within the pages of romantic fiction. "Many of our readers are not used to seeing African-American men personified 'heroically' and 'sensually' in contemporary fiction, now they are able to do so," said Francis Ray, one of Arabesque's best selling authors. The acquisition of the Arabesque line offers BET an immediate presence in the area of African- American book publishing book publishing. The term publishing means, in the broadest sense, making something publicly known. Usually it refers to the issuing of printed materials, such as books, magazines, periodicals, and the like. . Arabesque publishes four titles per month with sales of nearly 1 million copies per year. Romance novels account for approximately 49% of all paperback book sales, with over 35 million women reading romance novels in North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. . In June 1997, nine of the top 50 titles on the Romance Bestseller List for Ingram, one of the country's largest book distributors, were Arabesque novels. BET Holdings, Inc., is a multi-media entertainment company, publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) World's largest marketplace for securities. The exchange began as an informal meeting of 24 men in 1792 on what is now Wall Street in New York City. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :BTV (Business TV) Using television to deliver company information and training to employees in remote branches. BTV uses satellite-based video to regular TV sets or IP-based video over the LAN/WAN to desktop computers and room monitors. ) which owns and operates Black Entertainment Television (BET). The first national cable network targeted toward African-American consumers, BET is currently available in 54 million cable households nationwide, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Nielsen media research. Recognized for the second consecutive year by Forbes magazine as one of "America's Best Small Companies," BET Holdings, Inc. also owns and operates BET On Jazz: The Cable Jazz Channel(TM), BET Movies/STARZ!(3), BET Action Pay Per View, and BET International(TM) networks; Emerge, BET Weekend and Heart & Soul magazines; and Arabesque Books. BET has also introduced a new men's clothing line called EXSTO XXIV VII from the BET Design Studio. The BET On Jazz Restaurant, in Washington, DC and the BET SoundStage Restaurant in Largo, MD are two of the company's restaurants. BET Holdings, Inc. works with several partners to establish strategic partnerships, including: MSBET, an Internet-based joint venture with Microsoft Corporation; a BET branded visa card through BET Financial Services, in a joint venture with Chevy Chase Bank
Orlando - a city in central Florida; site of Walt Disney World Attractions. Link onto www.msbet.com or www.arabesquebooks.com for a preview of the upcoming titles!
CONTACT: BET, Corporate Communications
Marcy Polanco, Publicist, 202/608-2211
or
Arabesque
Roberta Elins, Publicist, 212/475-6248
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