There's No Excuse For Missing The 2015 BET Awards

After years under the radar, Janet Jackson is back with new music, and, as if that wasn't exciting enough on its own, she will be receiving a special honor at the 2015 BET Awards on Sunday. It just goes to show why anyone who can't catch them on TV should stream the BET Awards online this year, and every year. Free from the rest of awards season, they usually net great musical performances and honor artists who don't get the opportunity to make speeches and talk about their work for the rest of the year.

Because the BET Awards try to cover a wide swath of black culture, there are more serious honors included as well. For example, the 2015 awards will be honoring activist Tom Joyner in addition to Jackson, and will surely invoke the fiftieth anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s Selma to Montgomery march to contextualize how far activism has come, as well as how much needs to still be done.

To make sure no one misses any of that, the BET Awards will be available to stream in multiple places this year, which is great, because it's summer. You don't want the last few days of your vacation to be ruined when you realize there's no cable and there's nothing you want more than to be able to see Rihanna's outfit or hear from what will almost certainly be a winning speech from Empire star Taraji P. Henson. Here's where to catch the BET Awards online this Sunday night.

Red Carpet/Backstage Livestream

If you want a fuller experience of the show, but don't mind missing the main awards, then you can watch BET.com's two livestreams that will broadcast both the red carpet footage (because the BET Awards are always well-dressed), and the backstage show, which will feature exclusive video of the winners as they exit the stage.

BET NOW App

The BET NOW app allows you to access the live feed of the channel. Perfect for watching on your fancy phone or tablet, if you wind up stuck somewhere with no TV in sight.

Your Cable Company

Time Warner Cable and AT&T Uverse both allow you to stream live television via their websites.

Playstation VUE

BET is one of the networks available on this TV-streaming service. Just in case you're unwilling to pay for cable, but do have a PS4. Oh, and BET isn't available on Xbox One's Sling TV service, so you'll have to choose Sony on this one if you want to watch the awards.

Slingbox/Roku

Both of these services require a cable subscription, but at least you can beat the dreaded three hour delay on the west coast.

And Even More Cable Providers

Even more cable companies, like Xfinity or Optimum, also allow you to livestream all of their channels online via a computer or tablet app.

Seriously, whether your only access to the Internet is through a library or you have an entire entertainment complex set up in your basement, there's a way for you to stream the BET Awards.

Images: Giphy (6)