Sky News is today producing two fast turnaround documentaries on the death of Michael Jackson to be broadcast tonight on rival networks Sky1 and Channel Five.

 

Both hour-long shows, which are expected to include similar moments from Jackson's life, were originally planned to run at 8pm, although Five later confirmed it would move its to 7pm.

 

Sky News is producing Five's show as it holds the contract for its news coverage, with the channel having a separate studio and newsroom at Sky's Osterley base in west London.

 

Five's Michael Jackson: King of Pop, which will replace the advertised Five News and Top Trumps in the 7pm hour, will see Natasha Kaplinsky look back at the life and career of the pop icon, who died late last night, UK time.

 

The programme will include US fans' reaction to Jackson's death and a look at his life using interviews with Uri Gellar, Mark Lester and music journalist Neil McCormick, and clips from Jackson's appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show and his interview with TV newscaster Diane Sawyer.

 

Meanwhile, Sky1's special documentary, titled The Real Michael Jackson, will feature TV coverage from his career. This will be produced by Sky News' Nick Phipps. The programme will be repeated at midnight and at 10pm tomorrow, with a further afternoon repeat on Sunday.

 

Meanwhile, US networks hastily ripped up their schedules last night to air Jackson tribute programmes alongside already planned shows on actor Farrah Fawcett, who also died yesterday.

 

News of Jackson's death broke just 90 minutes before primetime was due to begin on the east coast, with ABC, NBC and CBS all reworking their lineups to make room.

 

Barbara Walters introduced ABC's two-hour special. Martin Bashir, the British journalist who made his name in the US with his 2003 ITV documentary Living with Michael Jackson, which also aired on ABC, presented the Jackson tribute, The Life and Death of Michael Jackson.

 

This was followed at 10pm by Farrah Fawcett: Her Life, Her Loves, Her Legacy. Additional reporting on the two deaths continued on ABC's Nightline at 11.35pm.

 

NBC News broadcast a two-hour episode of Dateline from 9pm devoted to Jackson and Fawcett, fronted by Ann Curry and Meredith Vieira. Tonight NBC plans to rebroadcast two-hour documentary Farrah's Story about her battle with cancer.

 

CBS News aired a one-hour news special at 10pm also titled The Life and Death of Michael Jackson; while on Fox, Nigel Lythgoe, the British judge on reality show So You Think You Can Dance, paid tribute to Jackson and Fawcett during the live results programme.

 

The network said it would also repeat its two-hour Jackson-themed episode of American Idol from last season on Monday night as a tribute.

 

 

 

 

 

via the Gaurdian.

Gosh, that's fast :o

BBC 1 have a 30 minute tribute show at 19:30 Hrs today.

 

Whilst Channel 4 have a one hour tribute show at 20:00 Hrs today.