The question on everyone’s mind is whether the BET Awards, the Soul Train Awards and the Hip Hop Awards have been canceled or not. The BET Awards were launched in 2001 by Black Entertainment Television. They have long celebrated Black excellence in music, sports, film, and philanthropy. However, recent whispers suggest changes might be on the horizon for the other two awards. Fans now wonder whether the iconic BET Hip Hop Awards and Soul Train Awards will continue as per usual.
Here’s all we know about the rumors surrounding the BET Awards and the other two shows, and what’s going on with them.
Are the BET Awards getting canceled permanently?
No, the BET Awards are not canceled. 2025’s BET Awards took place in June and will continue next year. However, BET recently confirmed that its two other award shows, the Soul Train Awards and the Hip Hop Awards, have been suspended for now, but not canceled forever.
In a conversation with Billboard, BET President and CEO Scott Mills talked about 2025’s BET Awards, saying:
“I give [Executive VP/Head of Specials, Music Programming and Music Strategy] Connie Orlando and the creative team incredible credit for delivering an amazing 25th anniversary BET Awards show. I’ve been in the BET ecosystem for the full 25 years that we’ve been doing the show. My seat mate at this year’s show was Stephen Hill, the young man who, 25 years ago, created the BET Awards. At the end of it, he turned to me and said, “This is one of the best BET Awards I’ve ever seen.”
He also gave an update on 2026’s BET Awards, saying:
“What you’ll see in 2026 is us moving it right back to its traditional location, the last Sunday in June. And we’ll bring the BET festival back as well.”
When asked about the Soul Train and Hip Hop Awards, Mills explained that the network is not eliminating these shows but rather “reimagining” them for today’s shifting media landscape. He said:
“So for BET linear, we have suspended the Soul Train and Hip-Hop award shows. But we have a team that’s actively thinking about where those award shows might best live as the media climate continues to evolve. They aren’t gone. And we also still have the NAACP Image Awards and the Stellar Awards.”
He continued:
“It’s less about them being no longer and more about our team having to reimagine them for this changing media landscape that we find ourselves in. I think what we’re going to see are more people taking franchises and saying, ‘This might have started on linear television, but now I’m going to move it to another space. Do I move it to streaming? Or do I move it to another platform?’ So for BET linear, we have suspended the Soul Train and Hip-Hop award shows. But we have a team that’s actively thinking about where those award shows might best live as the media climate continues to evolve.”
Mills emphasized that these iconic celebrations of culture are not disappearing completely. In fact, BET still hosts other major events like the NAACP Image Awards and Stellar Awards.
