by Reuters|Published 09-02-2005

LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- In a rare collaboration among America's biggest broadcasters, the six major networks are planning a joint telethon to raise money for survivors of Hurricane Katrina, people familiar with the project said on Thursday.

Although no air date has been set, and plans remained sketchy, the program is conceived as a commercial-free live special with musical performances by recording stars punctuated with appearances from other celebrities, insiders at three networks told Reuters.

The hour-long event would be simulcast by CBS, ABC, Fox, NBC, the WB and UPN networks, similar to the star-studded joint telethon aired by the major broadcasters 10 days after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

That two-hour special, called "America: A Tribute to Heroes," drew 59 million viewers and raised more than $150 million in pledges to assist families of people killed in the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Comedian and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, a native of Louisiana -- one of the states hardest hit by Katrina -- has expressed an interest in hosting the hurricane telethon, network sources said. But no decisions on talent for the show have been made.

Separately, NBC is sticking with plans, announced on Wednesday, to televise its own live benefit for hurricane relief on Friday, featuring performances by Louisiana-born music stars Harry Connick Jr., Wynton Marsalis and Tim McGraw.

NBC's move to hurriedly arrange its own special, without first seeking to include other networks, drew grumbles from some rival broadcast executives, according to one source. But NBC executives told Hollywood trade paper Daily Variety they were responding to pleas from Connick, a New Orleans native, to put on a fund-raiser as quickly as possible.

At least two other such shows are being planned for September 9 by the BET cable channel and September 10 by MTV and its sister cable networks.

In addition, veteran entertainer Jerry Lewis said he would devote a portion of his annual Labor Day telethon for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, which starts on Sunday, to appeals for hurricane-relief donations.

And Nashville's Grand Ole Opry and television network Great American Country (GAC) announced plans for Country Reaches Out: An Opry Benefit for the American Red Cross to assist with hurricane relief.

The September 27 event, to be held at the Grand Ole Opry House, will begin at 8 p.m. ET. GAC will broadcast live from the event starting at 9 p.m. ET. Among the growing list of artists scheduled to appear are Alan Jackson, Alison Krauss, Craig Morgan and Billy Currington.

The Opry event will also be simulcast on GAC sister networks DIY Network and Fine Living, as well as Nashville's WSM-AM, Sirius Satellite Radio, and opry.com.

The Dave Matthews Band will perform a September 12 concert at Red Rocks Amphitheatre near Denver, part of a multi-date stand at that arena, with all profits to go to charities supporting victims of Hurricane Katrina.

"The amount of generosity from around the country I'm sure is staggering right now from people just giving what they can," Matthews told The Associated Press in a phone interview Thursday.

"We're just getting in line behind those people, getting in line a long way behind the Red Cross or National Guard, but we all have to do a little bit."

The band added the benefit show to its sold-out September 9-11 stint at the amphitheater. Matthews said it hasn't been decided which charities will benefit from the show.

The flurry of TV fund-raising plans came as a number of celebrities opened their wallets to help survivors of Katrina, which slammed into the U.S. Gulf Coast on Monday, causing widespread devastation in four states.

Sean "Diddy" Combs and Jay-Z have pledged $1 million to the American Red Cross.

The two rappers announced their joint donation Thursday, saying they hoped to inspire others, especially blacks, to give.

"This is our community," Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, who is also president and CEO of the Def Jam record label, told The Associated Press by phone. "When I turn on CNN, I see a lot of black people on the streets. I know it's other people too, but those projects have been hit hard."

Movie star Nicolas Cage and Canadian singer Celine Dion each donated $1 million to the American Red Cross for relief efforts, and teen pop sensation Hilary Duff donated $250,000 to hurricane-related charities.