Soul Train Awards Return To TV This Fall
The Soul Train Awards are set to return to television this fall after a hiatus, with BET announcing plans to tape the ceremony in Chicago, the city where the original “Soul Train” series first launched more than five decades ago.
The revived awards show is being presented by Spotify and Toyota, with Spotify serving as the exclusive music streaming partner for the franchise. According to BET, the telecast will air Friday, November 27, at 8:00 p.m. ET, and for the first time in the show’s history, it will simulcast on CBS in addition to BET, BET HER, VH1, MTV2, and LOGO.
Executives from both companies framed the return as a moment of cultural significance. Joe Hadley, Global Head of Music Content and Partnerships at Spotify, said the partnership reflects the company’s interest in showing up “where culture is,” while Louis Carr, President of BET, called the Chicago taping a homecoming for a show that has long been tied to the city’s musical identity. Kimmy Summers, Lead Artist Partnerships at Spotify, added that the goal is to connect new listeners with the history of R&B and soul while spotlighting artists shaping the genre’s future. Details on performers, honorees, and a host have not yet been released, with BET saying those announcements will come in the weeks ahead.
The original “Soul Train” premiered in 1971 under creator Don Cornelius and ran for 35 years, becoming the longest-running first-run nationally syndicated program in American television history. The series was widely credited with introducing mainstream audiences to Black music, fashion, and dance, and it became a launching pad for countless R&B, soul, funk, and hip-hop artists over its run. The Soul Train Awards, which grew out of that legacy, have similarly served as a showcase for Black music achievement since debuting in the late 1980s.
The announcement arrives at a moment when music award shows are increasingly leaning on streaming partnerships to extend their reach beyond a single broadcast night. Platforms like Spotify have positioned themselves as cultural tastemakers rather than simple distribution tools, aligning with televised events to create playlists, artist spotlights, and promotional campaigns that keep momentum going long after a ceremony airs. For an awards brand like Soul Train, which has deep ties to a specific musical heritage, that kind of digital amplification could help introduce archival performances and legacy artists to younger, streaming-native audiences.
The move also reflects a broader trend of media companies revisiting older franchises with an eye toward multiplatform simulcasts. Pairing a legacy cable outlet like BET with a major broadcast network such as CBS suggests an effort to widen viewership beyond core fan bases, a strategy other award shows and specials have used in recent years to boost ratings amid a fragmented television landscape. Awards programming built around genre-specific communities, whether R&B, country, or Latin music, has increasingly relied on these cross-network deals to remain commercially viable.
BET has not yet disclosed a venue for the Chicago taping, nor confirmed which artists will be honored during the broadcast. The network said additional details, including performers and presenters, will be shared closer to the November air date.
This announcement was reported by Spotify’s newsroom.
