Earlier this week, as 11pm approached on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, the ABC News production team finally got the window they’d been waiting for.
David Muir, who spent hours touring the island and the Statue of Liberty with park rangers, was interviewing singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile, who will follow up with a performance of “America the Beautiful” in front of the statue lit up in red, white and blue to mark the country’s 250th anniversary.
The performance and interview are the centerpiece of what ABC News president Almen Karahamdovic says is “the longest commercial broadcast in history,” a 24-hour marathon of programming that will begin at 10 p.m. on July 3 with the Statue of Liberty light show; Carlyle’s performance. Moyer’s tour of the statue and a “special message” from Walt Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro continues until 11 p.m. on July 4, when Ryan Seacrest will lead the Nashville tour. Sparkling star bash.
But first, the ABC News team had to get the information. On the evening of filming, there was the frequent buzz of tour helicopters circling the island, and a few party boats blaring music, which threatened to scupper the plans. However, as the evening progressed, the noise subsided, and temporary work began at the base of the Statue of Liberty, ensuring a distraction-free performance.
When the boat returned from Liberty Island to lower Manhattan soon after, Muir and Carlyle stood on deck and took a last look at the Statue of Liberty, with the light show still being tested, to begin what would be the kickoff program for ABC’s 24-hour broadcast, a program that executive producer John R. Green says will be “a spectacle worth 250 years of hope and dreams.”
“In all of our conversations, we kept thinking about these iconic symbols that represent the hope that America has captured over 250 years, and obviously we all kept coming back to the Statue of Liberty,” Green says, adding that conversations with the French government (which is putting on a light show and a military bridge) helped bring everything together. “It was an opportunity to use this iconic symbol of America and freedom and hope as a backdrop to do something really amazing. And always, when you do a marathon broadcast like this, you want to start with the spectacle, and this is it.”
But the scene at the Statue of Liberty is just the beginning. ABC News and Disney in general are planning more coverage, which will continue throughout the night, into the morning and afternoon of July 4, culminating in that party in Nashville.
“We just wanted to make a statement by telling our story and make it big,” Karahamdovic says.
The result will see nearly every ABC News anchor and reporter contribute, with segments from all 50 states and more than 60 live remotes. The rest of Disney is also participating:
The partnership with Nat Geo will take viewers inside America’s Seven Natural Wonders, including Muir’s Grand Canyon and Michael Strahan’s Niagara Falls; Special editions of Night line, Good morning America and World news; A simulcast of the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest and a special sports center will bring ESPN into the fold. Although it won’t be broadcast on television, Disney World and Disneyland are planning special events like military fly-overs and patriotic parades, bringing the Disney theme parks into celebration. Fireworks will appear at Disneyland during the Nashville broadcast.
Green and Karamedovic also noted that many broadcasters and reporters use the special to show a little about themselves as well.
“You’ll see the strength of those personal relationships that come with most of our broadcasters,” Karahamdovic says. “For example, Diane Sawyer will go to Appalachia, and she’s from Kentucky. Robert Roberts shares her personal story, where she grows up, does several pieces in Mississippi, and goes to Florida, so you’ll see these personal connections that make it more beautiful in a way.”
“Instead of waiting to see what they would be assigned to do, reporters and anchors would come to us, excitedly recalling their home states,” Green adds. “So, Sarah Haines from The view We grew up in Iowa, and we knew we wanted to tell the story of the American farmer, and what better place to do that than Iowa? She really wanted to do it, so she returned to Iowa. John Carle, you may know, spent a lot of his childhood in South Dakota and had a very strong personal connection to Mount Rushmore, he climbed Rushmore as a child, and he sent us pictures of himself as a young boy from the top of Mount Rushmore, and so this level of personal involvement, it was really appropriate, because most Americans think about the Fourth of July in many ways through the lens of their childhood memories, and all of these reporters and correspondents came to us with strong connections and strong memories. What did they do when they were kids on 4th of july.
The final event will be Seacrest’s special July 4th show from Nashville, which will include a fireworks display and performances by artists such as The All-American Rejects, Boyz II Men, NE-YO, Nick Jonas, Reba McEntire, Sublime and Tim McGraw.
But over the course of the entire broadcast, Disney is hoping every corner of the country will get its own slice of the pie.
“All 50 states and several overseas territories are represented, and it’s really important in this coverage for all of us to show the entire nation,” Green says. “I think starting in New York, and then going to Central America, to Nashville, there’s something really nice about that, because, you know, the vibes are different in different parts of the country, and you’re going to be there with all-star performers, with amazing fireworks, and all the energy that Ryan Seacrest brings, so that’s part of the diversity that we’re talking about, is geographic diversity and showcasing how people celebrate the 4th of July in different parts of the U.S. country.”
For a holiday that has no shortage of options for what to watch on TV (Fox has a popular football series, for example), ABC and Disney are betting they have something that can stand out.
