Viacom Inc.'s cable networks will air nearly 20 HIV/AIDS-related specials and news updates as part of KNOW HIV/AIDS’ World AIDS Day activities.
KNOW HIV/AIDS is a cross-platform media campaign that launched this past January.
Among the planned specials:
• Nickelodeon, The N, The Kaiser Family Foundation and UNICEF will host World AIDS Day 2003: Youth Speak About HIV/AIDS (Dec. 1), a discussion led by Stephen Lewis, the United Nations secretary-general's special envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, who is moderating a panel of HIV-positive young people before an audience of 200 high-school students from the New York area.
• Nickelodeon will air The Courage to Live: Kids, South Africa and AIDS (Dec. 1), a look at how AIDS is affecting that country's kids and what is being done about it.
• Nickelodeon and The N will premiere The N's A Walk in Your Shoes: Living with HIV/AIDS (Dec. 1), a special that features an HIV-negative teen "walking in the shoes" of an HIV-positive teen.
• MTV: Music Television's sexual-health campaign, "Fight for Your Rights: Protect Yourself," will premiere Social History of HIV/AIDS (Nov. 26), a show that combines testimonial-style interviews of young people who have been directly affected by HIV/AIDS with historical information on the epidemic and expert interviews.
• MTV will also air Crashing with Good Charlotte (Nov. 29), a special that follows platinum-selling rockers Good Charlotte performing a free concert after MTV and SIECUS (The Sexuality Information and Education Council of the U.S.) hosted a sexual-health forum in Punxsutawney, Pa.
• MTV channels worldwide, along with VH1 and Infinity Broadcasting Corp. radio stations in the United States, will premiere 46664 -- The Concert in Association with MTV's Staying Alive (Dec. 1). The 90-minute all-star concert from Cape Town, South Africa, will feature performances by Beyonce, Bono, Eurythmics, Anastacia and others as part of Nelson Mandela's global HIV/AIDS-awareness campaign and fund-raising initiative for South Africa.
• MTV channels around the world will premiere Roll Call, a new 30-minute special (hosted by MTV UK & Ireland's Tim Kash) that will salute young people whose lives have been affected by HIV/AIDS.
• MTV channels will rebroadcast Meeting Mandela: A Staying Alive Special, a 60-minute show (hosted by Beyonce) where young people from diverse backgrounds discuss topics such as HIV/AIDS with the humanitarian and former president of South Africa.
• MTV India, MTV Philippines and MTV Thailand will each premiere locally produced concerts dedicated to HIV/AIDS awareness featuring local and international artists, as well as political figures.
• VH1 will air VH1 News Presents: AIDS: A Pop Culture History (Dec. 1), a one-hour documentary (hosted by Ashley Judd) that reveals how pop culture influenced the way the public has experienced HIV/AIDS over the past 20 years.
• Showtime will air Longtime Companion (Dec. 1), an Oscar-nominated film that chronicles the lives of close friends affected by HIV/AIDS.
• Black Entertainment Television will air 106th & Park (Dec. 1), a special live telecast featuring hosts AJ and Free, celebrity guests Alicia Keys and Wyclef Jean and medical experts discussing the impact of HIV/AIDS on young people; Naked Truth 2 (Dec. 1), an award-winning documentary that explores the personal journey of six African-American women who are either affected or infected with the disease; and Rap City: Tha Bassment (Dec. 1), a special two-hour episode that highlights important HIV-testing information.
