A special benefit concert to help victims of the Hurricane Katrina disaster is being organized by the NBC Universal Television Group for today at 8:00 pm ET. As part of the concert broadcast, rival satellite radio providers XM and Sirius both announced plans to simulcast the concert to their respective listener bases.
“A Concert for Hurricane Relief†will broadcast on XM’s MSNBC channel 130 and CNBC channel 127, while on Sirius the concert can be heard on CNBC channel 101. It will also air across NBC’s broadcast and cable TV channels. The event, which will be hosted by Matt Lauer in New York, features music artists including Faith Hill, Aaron Neville, Tim McGraw, Harry Connick, Jr. and Wynton Marsalis, and appearances from stars including Leonardo DiCaprio, Mike Myers, Hilary Swank, Lindsay Lohan, Claire Danes, John Goodman, Eric LaSalle and Eli Manning.
Both satellite networks are encouraging listeners to make contributions to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. XM has set up a website with more information and Sirius will remind listeners during the concert to donate via the display of their satellite radios.