HBO has acquired the rights to Barack Obama's Inauguration on January 20th. It will all begin on Sunday January 18th with a telecast of the star-studded opening ceremony. Back in '93 HBO paid $1.5 million to exclusively televise Bill Clinton's kickoff from the Lincoln Memorial. But this proved to annoy non-HBO subscribers who weren't able to watch the Diana Ross and Bob Dylan concert. However, this year, HBO is planning to offer the event free to cable and satellite subscribers whether they subscribe to HBO or not.
The entertainment for the event hasn't been announced but both Obama and Vice President elect Joe Biden are scheduled to attend. According to The Hollywood Reporter, HBO won't be televising that Sunday afternoon event live, but the other networks -- including all the broadcast and cable news channels as well as TV One -- are rolling out extensive coverage of the Jan. 20 inauguration and the events preceeding it. Plans that will include a full-court press of the top anchors and correspondents, Web streaming of events and, in some cases, extensive radio. All three broadcast nets will feature an hour of primetime as well, capping several days of heavy coverage.
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