ABC’s new live-action singing competition “Rising Star” premieres on Sunday, June 22 at 9/8c. Originally, it was going to face off against a repeat of NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” in the Eastern half of the country, but not anymore. In a late change, NBC has announced that they will now air a new two-hour installment of “AGT” opposite ABC’s big premiere. And that’s not all.
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Sunday night will also see a special interstitial program, airing throughout the night’s programming. NBC is sticking with a repeat of “American Ninja Warrior” at 7/6c. The new special will feature two different attempts to break two different Guinness World Records, and it will all be hosted by “AGT” judge Howie Mandel.
Aaron Evans, a 25-year-old stay-at-home father, will attempt to break his own record of jumping over three cars driving 30 miles per hour straight at him. His current mark is 23.28 seconds.
See video: ABC’s ‘Rising Star’ Judges Explain Why This Singing Competition Will Be Different
The second record attempt will be from Darren Taylor aka “Professor Splash.” Taylor is a former “AGT” contestant, making it to the semi-final rounds in 2011. He will be attempting to set a record for the highest shallow dive into fire. He currently holds the record for highest shallow water dive.
It looks like NBC is pulling out all the stops to try and make ABC’s big reality gamble stumble out of the gate. By broadcasting the world record attempts throughout the night, they’re hoping to keep viewers tuned into NBC no matter what time “Rising Star” airs in each local market on ABC.
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In a bold move, and to make it as fair as possible for the live voting – only the West Coast will not see “Rising Star” air live during its original broadcast – “Rising Star” will air at 9 p.m. ET/PT, 8 p.m. CT, and 7 p.m. MT.
