HBO to unscramble signal for Obama Celebration

[globalvillage]

"We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial" will be presented exclusively by HBO 6 p.m. Chicago time Sunday.

HBO said in a news release performers will include Beyonce (pictured at right), Mary J. Blige, Bono, Garth Brooks, Sheryl Crow, Renee Fleming, Josh Groban, Herbie Hancock, Heather Headley, John Legend, Jennifer Nettles, John Mellencamp, Usher, Shakira, Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, will.i.am and Stevie Wonder. Additional performers may be announced later.

...


According to the release, "HBO will televise the event on an open signal, working with all of its distributors to allow Americans across the country with access to cable, telcos or satellite television to join in the Opening Celebration for free."

edit for link

http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/entertainment_tv/2009/01/obamapresident.html

[cbayer]

1. I think that's wonderful and can't wait to see the event.

Thanks for posting this.

:hi:

[ecstatic]

2. awww. that smilie is so cute! nt

[roguevalley]

21. I hope everyone appreciates how unprecedented this all is. I am so proud of

America. Go, AMERICA! Go, OBAMA!

[Cha]

3. This is so Awesome..I don't

get HBO but I will Sunday:bounce:

[Hieronymus]

5. I don't get HBO either, so how do I see the show on Sunday?

[Cha]

6. I'm thinking I'll just put it on

channel # 6 where it would be if I subscribed and it will magically show up. We'll see.

[onehandle]

4. 65" Sony in HDTV is warmed up and ready to go.

We gave up our reservations in DC for a better view.

[starroute]

7. This is how Dish Network is handling it

Presumably cable systems should be similar.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/DISH-NetworkR-Presents-prnews-14089403.html

DISH Network Corporation (Nasdaq: DISH - News), the nation's third largest pay-TV provider and the digital television leader, today announced that many of the events of the 56th Presidential Inauguration will be made available to DISH Network® customers for free. These include HBO's coverage of the inaugural Opening Celebration on Sunday, Jan. 18, and continuing with six 24-hour news channels on DISH Network's interactive Ch. 100 simultaneously airing on Inauguration Day, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2009.

On Jan. 18, HBO will exclusively broadcast the inaugural celebration and make it available to all pay-TV subscribers. DISH Network will provide live coverage of the event on HBO's SD and HD channels 300 and 303 beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET/ 11:30 a.m. PT. with rebroadcasts at 7 p.m. ET on Ch. 300 and 7 p.m. PT on Ch. 303. HBO Latino subscribers will see the live broadcast beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET and the rebroadcast at 7 p.m. ET on Ch. 309*. The celebration will showcase musical performances by: Beyonce, Bono, Herbie Hancock, John Legend, Shakira, Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, Stevie Wonder and many more. Also speaking will be Jamie Foxx, Martin Luther King III, Queen Latifa and Denzel Washington.

On Inauguration Day, DISH Network will offer unmatched coverage beginning at midnight ET on Jan. 20, 2009 and ending at midnight ET Jan. 21 on DishHOME Channel 100. Subscribers may tune into Ch. 100 to watch the mosaic featuring the following six networks: FOX News Channel (Ch. 205), CNN (Ch. 200), MSNBC (Ch. 209), CNN Headline News (Ch. 202), CSPAN (Ch. 210) and CSPN2 (Ch. 212).

[KT2000]

13. Wow! Thanks for posting

Good for DISH.

[ima_sinnic]

14. thanks for the info! I recently downgraded Dish to the "cheap-@$$ package"

& get very few channels anymore. (by the way, call and tell them you want to quit. After a few questions about why, they will "magically" come up with a much-reduced list of channels called the "Welcome Package" that "magically" fits your interests -- I get MSNBC now, and AMC, WE, Oxygen, & a few others that are of much more interest to me, along with Link and Free Speech -- for only $9.99. I don't know if this list was tailored to "disgruntled liberals who hate CNN, want more movies, and can't find much else of relevance in the America Top 100" or what).

[Mz Pip]

8. thanks for posting this.

I would have missed it. I think I have a lot of taping to do. I want to save this, though I suspect I'll be able to get it eventually on Netflix.

[AtomicKitten]

9. I'm glad they are embracing inclusiveness on this historic day. n/t

[Maru Kitteh]

10. Wow. That's incredible. I wonder how cheap I could pick up another DVR.

[beac]

11. Add another name to the Freeper "boycott" list!

First no Krispy Kreme (http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x8094321), now no HBO?!?!? Moms' basements all over America are going to be VERY sad places on 1/20!

[grace0418]

12. I wish Comcast hadn't screwed us to the point that we dropped our cable service.

It would have been great to see this.

[Bill219]

15. This is how DirecTV is handling it...

http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/global/contentPageNR.jsp?assetId=P5370022

2009 INAUGURATION MIX
Only on DIRECTV
Channel 102 and 352

See extensive coverage of the historic inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States on January 20 from 10am to 5pm ET.

* Available in HD on ch. 352*
* Enjoy live broadcasts from 8 channels on 1 screen.
* Watch all of the coverage at once or highlight any one and tune in directly to see it full-screen.
* Keep track of all the latest developments with a real-time blog ticker.

[Ino]

16. DirecTV also has it on free HBO

Free to all DIRECTV customers
HBO FREE PREVIEW January 15-18
Watch "We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial," exclusively on HBO: January 18, live at 2:30 pm ET/11:30 am PT; re-airs at 7 pm ET/PT. Record this event to your DVR
Don't miss this once-in-a-lifetime event featuring some of the biggest names in entertainment.

[WinkyDink]

17. FANTASTIC news for this non-Premium-Cable person! Thank you, HBO!!

[Frank Booth]

18. will.i.am must thank God every day for Barack Obama.

[sohndrsmith]

19. Thanks for the info! I was wondering about this when they got the contract, and

I was only slightly worried that those without HBO might not be able to watch the inauguration live, but that didn't seem possible.

Now I wish there were more local places around the country (including where I am) where people could gather together and watch this historic event even if far from DC... I keep hearing that many Starbucks are participating, but according to msnbc, they're limited to SF, NY and (I think, Seattle). I've looked online and at change.gov for things like this but so far I don't see much.

I'm excited to witness this event, but it would be fun to participate in a celebration with others. I wish there were more restaurants or even fairgrounds or drive-ins (or even block parties) that people could gather for the swearing in. Perhaps they're out there and I just haven't found them.... yet. So I'll keep looking. Either way, I'm jazzed beyond description. : )

[high density]

20. Check your cable operator to see if it's on a special channel

For instance, here's Time Warner of Maine's plans for the program: http://www.timewarnercable.com/NewEngland/programming/HBO/President/special.html