Obama inauguration DVDs to street
Titles cover the historic events of Jan. 20
By Laurence Lerman -- Video Business, 1/29/2009
JAN. 29 | Last year saw a regular stream of releases about Barack Obama, covering all things biographical and political, up through the former Senator’s 2008 presidential campaign and victory in November. The first wave of Obama titles in 2009 come from TV’s three major broadcast networks—ABC, CBS and NBC—all of which look at the events of Jan. 20, the historic inauguration day of Obama as the 44th president of the U.S.
MPI's Presidential Inauguration DVD features ABC coverage.
Chicago-based MPI Media Group will release A Moment in History: The Inauguration of Barack Obama ($14.98) on March 3. Clocking in at nearly four hours, the ABC News Production will include the entire day’s coverage as anchored by Charles Gibson, Diane Sawyer and George Stephanopoulos, as well as such musical highlights as Aretha Franklin’s performance of “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” and Beyoncé Knowles singing Etta James’ standard “At Last” at the Neighborhood Ball.
A similarly comprehensive, four-hour program from NBC News, The Inauguration of Barack Obama ($19.99), will be available from the NBC Universal Store (www.nbcuniversalstore.com) on March 10.
With its Feb. 9 release date, 60 Minutes Presents: Obama: All Access—Barack Obama’s Road to the White House ($19.99) will be the first title of the three to be released, though it focuses only marginally on the events of Inauguration Day by way of its inclusion of President Obama’s inauguration address. Marking the first time the venerable CBS show 60 Minutes has released a special edition DVD with material that didn’t appear on TV (combined with aired material), the four-hour collection also includes Obama’s first post-election TV interview on 60 Minutes.
Finally, USA Today will issue America’s Journey: Inauguration Day 2009 ($12.99) as a download-on-demand product on Feb. 20. The program, which runs approximately 45 minutes and is available at www.amazon.com, includes perspectives from civil rights leaders, historians and other experts as a preamble to the inauguration celebration.
