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Worldwide TV audiences watch as Obama is sworn in

Sunday, 12 April 2009 14:00

Broadcasters around the world ripped up their schedules Tuesday to carry live coverage of President Barack Obama's inauguration, as U.S. political historians, pundits and celebrities were called on to provide commentary on the historic proceedings. Using pooled footage, broadcasters showed a sea of Obama hats stretching from the Capitol to the Washington Monument as excitement over the inauguration of the 44th president of the U.S. began to build from midmorning Washington time. In the United Kingdom, the BBC simulcast live coverage across BBC1, BBC News and BBC World News as well as its radio and online outlets. In addition to having a five-strong team of reporters in Washington, the British pubcaster called on veteran broadcaster Bob Woodward, historian Robert Dallek and Harvard Law School Professor Charles Ogletree -- who taught both Barack and Michelle Obama -- for commentary. Similar coverage was aired across Europe, with broadcasters including Sky News, Euronews and France 24 providing uninterrupted coverage of the inauguration preparations and speech. And broadcasters brought out their heavy guns, with public channels such as France 2, Spain's La 2 and Germany's ARD sending 30- or 40-strong production teams to Washington. Spain's TVE 1 lined up actor Antonio Banderas as an "expert" commentator from the U.S. for its radio coverage, while the pundit team on French pubcaster TF1 included Gallic presidential candidate Segolene Royal. Many of the round-the-clock news channels -- nTV and N24 in Germany, Euronews, France's I-Tele and BFM TV -- offered nonstop images, often with local-language subtitles, while the bigger networks provided simultaneous translation of the ceremony and Obama's speech. advertisement < Prev   Next >

Last Updated on Saturday, 02 May 2009 21:54