In what will surely be one of the largest ever, if not the largest, in-kind contributions to a presidential campaign if Al Gore decides to run, NBC Universal announced late last week that its networks will devote an incredible 75 hours of time on Saturday, July 7 to showing Gore's “Live Earth: The Concerts for a Climate in Crisis.”
In addition to the entirety of NBC's prime time that night hosted by Ann Curry of NBC News, CNBC will carry seven hours of coverage from 7pm to 2am EDT; Bravo will show the concerts around the world for 18 hours starting at 8am EDT; and both the Sundance channel and the Universal HD channel will showcase the concerts for 22 hours each beginning at 4am EDT.
Rounding out the 75 hours, mun2 will run a two-hour show at 5pm EDT and Telemundo will air a one-hour special at 7pm EDT. And that's not counting how NBC's press release touted that “MSNBC will broadcast special coverage of this global concert event throughout the day with live reports from the concerts in New York and London.”
NBC is quite proud of its role in advancing Al Gore's political agenda. The May 31 press release trumpeted:
The networks of NBC Universal will come together to air “Live Earth: The Concerts for a Climate in Crisis” an unprecedented global event on July 7. From the producers of "Live 8," this monumental music event will bring together more than 100 of today's hottest artists and two billion people to focus the world's attention on the global climate crisis and what can be done to reduce global warming. The networks of NBC Universal will broadcast nine legendary concerts from the seven continents, all raising awareness of the solutions to the global climate crisis.
"NBC Universal is proud to be the exclusive U.S. broadcaster of this historic television event," said Jeff Gaspin, President, NBC Universal Cable and Digital Content. "By leveraging all of our properties, we will reach millions of viewers with this important call to action to combat global warming, while offering our audiences an incredible entertainment experience from today's biggest artists."
"Live Earth is about engaging a critical mass of people to tackle the climate crisis," said Kevin Wall, Live Earth founder and producer. "NBC Universal's sweeping coverage of Live Earth ensures that Americans from coast to coast will be able to tune in to the concerts and take action against the climate crisis."...
The "Live Earth" concerts will take place in New York, London, Sydney, Tokyo, Shanghai, Johannesburg, Rio de Janeiro, Hamburg and Istanbul. Some of the hottest musical acts scheduled to perform include: Madonna, Bon Jovi, The Police, Sheryl Crow, Kelly Clarkson, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Kanye West, Melissa Etheridge, John Mayer, Faith Hill, Shakira, Mana, Black Eyed Peas, Fall Out Boy, Enrique Iglesias, Duran Duran and many more. The 24 hours of music across all seven continents will deliver a call to action and the solutions needed to answer the call. Live Earth marks the beginning of a multi-year campaign led by The Alliance for Climate Protection and its Chair, former Vice President Al Gore, to move individuals, corporations and governments to take action.
See the press release linked above for more detail about what will air on each channel.
Home page for the Live Earth concerts.
The “Who We Are” page with Al Gore.
A hat tip to TVNewser, where I first learned of NBC's announcement.
