HBO to Distribute Obama Inaugural Celebration

NEW YORK, January 16: HBO has scored the international rights to the opening ceremony of President Barack Obama’s inauguration for distribution to its branded channels around the world as well as to third-party broadcasters.

"There is great interest around the world in President-Elect Obama and his historic inauguration," said Charles Schreger, the president of programming sales at HBO. "We are very happy to be able to offer this event to our worldwide partners."

The concert will be seen on HBO branded channels in Asia, Central Europe and Latin America. A slate of other broadcasters have picked up the event, including M-Net Africa, SBS in Australia, France Telecom, HOT in Israel, SKY Italia and WOWOW in Japan. Performances are expected from Mary J. Blige, Garth Brooks, Sheryl Crow, Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor and U2, among others. Plus, several celebrities will be reading historical passages, among them Tom Hanks, Steve Carell, Jack Black and Denzel Washington.