Wal-Mart’s Street Cred

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (Bentonville, Ark.) has announced an alliance with Black Entertainment Television Inc. (Washington, D.C.) to offer music and movie offerings with BET content and branding.

Under the alliance, announced by BET president and ceo Debra Lee and Wal-Mart vp of merchandising David Porter, BET will provide Wal-Mart with DVDs containing exclusive BET programming and other content related to featured urban-oriented music and movie releases. These DVDs will be packaged with the featured releases and sold as “BET Official” branded two-packs in BET-branded retail sections and other merchandising displays throughout thousands of Wal- Mart and Sam’s Club locations.

First to hit Wal-Mart stores yesterday (August 30) under the new BET Official brand was a companion DVD featuring rapper Kanye West. The DVD will be paired with West’s newest CD project, “Late Registration,” in a special CD/DVD two-pack available exclusively at Sam’s and Wal-Mart stores.

“This marketing and promotion alliance with Wal-Mart pairs BET’s powerful brand and stellar content with trend-setting, urban-oriented music and movies to enhance Wal-Mart’s appeal in urban entertainment product,” said Lee. “Over the years, we’ve sought creative ways to deliver more BET programming content through retail channels. And what better way than combining the ultimate retailer with the greatest Black consumer brand on the planet.”

“We’re excited to be able to bring our customers some of the most popular music and movie titles in this category and our relationship with BET allows us to offer exclusive releases with award-winning artists,” said Wal-Mart’s Porter. “This is a relationship that will bring cutting-edge entertainment for customers of all ages.”

BET, a subsidiary of Viacom Inc. (New York), is the nation’s leading television network providing entertainment, music, news and public affairs programming for the African-American audience.