The Academy Awards are bringing on board two new production forces to lead the show and one of them played a crucial role in BET's rise. Reginald Hudlin, the first president of BET Networks, is now on board to produce the 88th Oscars, announced the Academy on Tuesday.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Hudlin was the head of BET Networks from 2005 to 2009 and became a highly respected force in entertainment, having received a 2012 Oscar nomination as a producer of Django Unchained. Hudlin is also no stranger to working behind the scenes at the Academy Awards as he has produced the sixth annual Governors Awards.

He is currently a partner in Milestone Media, a multi-ethnic comic book imprint distributed by DC Comics, and is also affiliated with New Nation Networks, a content provider with a partnership with Google. His new role of producing next year's broadcast sees him become only the second African-American to produce the show, behind Quincy Jones, who produced the 68th Academy Awards in 1996.

Hudlin will be joined by experienced producer of sports programming David Hill, who most recently served as the senior executive vice president of 21st Century Fox. After leaving Fox, Hill launched his own production company, focusing primarily on live and reality TV. Throughout his career, he has received an Emmy award for outstanding live sports special as an executive producer of the 2011 World Series broadcast and even served as executive producer on the final two seasons of American Idol.

"We're delighted to have this talented team on board," said Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs. "David is a true innovator with a dynamic personality. His vast experience as a live events producer, coupled with Reginald's energy, creativity and talent as a filmmaker, is sure to make this year's Oscar telecast a memorable one."

The 88th Annual Academy Awards will be broadcast on Feb. 28 on ABC.

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(Photo: Jerod Harris/Getty Images)