The Soul Train Awards are coming back — and the return is being built around the city where the original show started.
BET announced on Sept. 3 that the 2026 Soul Train Awards will be taped in Chicago and air Friday, Nov. 27 at 8 p.m. ET/PT. The ceremony will run on BET and, for the first time, be simulcast on CBS, along with BET Her, VH1, MTV2 and Logo.
Spotify and Toyota are presenting partners. Spotify will also serve as the franchise’s exclusive music-streaming partner.
Back to Chicago
The location is more than a backdrop. Don Cornelius launched Soul Train in Chicago in 1971 before the show became a national institution. BET says this year’s ceremony will connect the artists who helped define R&B and soul with newer artists carrying those traditions forward.
The network has not yet announced the host, performers or honorees. Those details are expected later.
Jesse Collins Entertainment is returning as the production company, with Jesse Collins, Dionne Harmon and Jeannae Rouzan-Clay serving as executive producers alongside BET executive Connie Orlando.
CBS changes the reach
The most concrete distribution change is the CBS simulcast. Previous Soul Train Awards telecasts have lived primarily inside BET’s cable ecosystem. Putting the 2026 edition on CBS at the same time gives the return a broader broadcast footprint without moving it away from BET.
That expansion is paired with a larger digital/music partnership. Spotify says its role is meant to extend the awards beyond the telecast and create more discovery around both legacy R&B and current artists.
The partnership structure also makes the comeback feel less like a one-night nostalgia play. BET owns the Soul Train brand, Spotify is tying the show into music discovery, Toyota returns as an automotive partner, and CBS adds a national broadcast layer.
What is confirmed so far
The ceremony is scheduled for Nov. 27, will be taped in Chicago, and will air across BET, CBS and several other Paramount networks. Spotify and Toyota are presenting partners. Host, performance and honoree announcements are still to come.
Those later lineup announcements will add to the story once BET makes them official. For now, the headline is the return itself: Soul Train is going back to Chicago, and the awards are getting their first CBS simulcast in the process.
