• The Hollywood Reporter, Thursday, July 5, 2007 10:30 AM

NBC Universal is going all out with its coverage of "Live Earth," with a three-hour prime-time special Saturday night on the Peacock Network, along with 18 hours of live coverage on Bravo, seven on CNBC and more on Sundance, Universal HD, Telemundo and Mun2.

It is trying hard to makes sure it doesn't repeat the mistakes of 2005's "Live 8," which drew many complaints about commercial interruptions. So NBC is working with the promoters and advertisers to cut ad time by about 50% an hour, leaving 50 minutes of program time instead of the usual 42. "We were very sensitive to the commercial load on the feeds," says Dan Harrison, senior vice president for emerging networks at NBC Cable. "It will be significantly lighter than what a normal hour of network television would be."

There will also be a multisecond delay on live events, in case any of the performers decide to utter f-word, as happened during "Live 8."

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