LOS ANGELES -- The World Music Video Awards, Rupert Murdoch's first global television special, garnered a full lineup of rock stars to help in Saturday's countdown of the top 20 videos chosen by viewers in eight countries.
Among the last to sign on to the award show's premiere was Irish musician Bob Geldof, who was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for heading the fund-raiser for Africa relief, 'BandAid.'
Among the others joining Geldof in entertaining the expected 250 million viewers in 30 countries will be Peter Gabriel and his former group Genesis, Run-DMC, The Bangles, INXS, Bruce Cockburn, Glass Tiger, Nena, Gianna Nannini, Etienne Daho, Europe, Tomita, Samantha Fox, Sheena Easton, Simply Red, Stewart Copeland and Janet Jackson.
The U.S. two-hour broadcast will feature live segments from London, Tokyo, Rome, Paris, Munich, Toronto, Amsterdam and Los Angeles.
The top 20 countdown will award gold, silver and bronze winners as chosen by combined voting from music fans in United States, Italy, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Japan, Australia and West Germany. Voters also selected a winner for the best domestic video in each of their respective countries.
Each nation's choices were given equal weight in the balloting, which ran Oct. 15 through Dec. 15.
All American Television Inc. and Murdoch's Fox Television Stations Inc. worked together on the syndication and production of the United States portion of the awards show, which will be shown in 80 percent of the nearly 100 U.S. markets.
'It's a great thrill for All American to be involved in such a monumental and exciting project,' said All American President George Back. 'This is a tremendous opportunity for bringing together millions of people for all over the planet.'
Murdoch's Sky Channel in Europe and MuchMusic in Canda are the international coproducers of the show, and Coca-Cola is the major sponsor.
Missing from the lineup of carriers is MTV. Richard Rottkov, an All American spokesman, said the cable carrier was not included because the United States will be covered by over-the-air broadcasters. But industry observers said it's clear that Murdoch's program is a competitor to MTV's own Music Video Awards.
