Australian TV nets plan tsunami telethons

Australian television networks Seven and Nine are planning telethon events to raise money for tsunami victims.

The Herald Sun reports that Seven, which shows Home and Away in Australia, will air Reach Out to Asia next Saturday. The three hour concert and telethon will broadcast live from the forecourt of Sydney's famous Opera House. Australian Idol Casey Donovan will perform live along with several other stars. The paper reports that Seven will sell 5,000 tickets to the event. All proceeds, both from ticket sales and from the telethon, will go to the World Vision charity.

The Nine Network, meanwhile, plans to air a special cricket match between an Asian XI team and a World XI, on January 10. Along with the match, the network plans to air a live, national telethon. Again all proceeds will go to World Vision.