NBC gets sour note as World Music Awards miss air date

The World Music Awards is turning into a disaster of global proportions. Confidenti@l has learned that the multimillion-dollar broadcast - already delayed a week because of a series of screw ups blamed on
"technical difficulties" - will likely never see the light of day.

The flashy ceremony, which includes performances by Miley Cyrus and Mariah Carey, was taped May 27 in Monte Carlo, Monaco, and scheduled to be broadcast on NBC the following day. But host Sharon Stone dropped out at the 11th hour over a payment problem and was hurriedly replaced by Pamela Anderson and "Talk Dirty" singer Jason Derulo.

After the last-minute fill-ins were found, the show ended up running so late that there wasn't enough time to do the cuts and editing for broadcast. It failed to make the two-hour 8 p.m. slot reserved by NBC. According to a source, the network - which scrambled at the last minute to fill the airtime with a repeat of "Last Comic Standing" - was promised an edited version by late last week, but is still waiting for the final cut.

Now we're told NBC execs are livid over the mess and planning to pull the plug altogether. "NBC has said that they're cutting their losses and dropping the broadcast," says an insider. "It's already caused too many problems and too much embarrassment. They've lost their patience with the whole thing. The 'WMA' team are desperately doing everything they can to convince NBC execs to air it, but the chances are looking bleak," the insider said. "They're hoping they can come up with a version that's so great, NBC can't refuse it." A second insider said it would be unfair of NBC to bury the production. "It would be really terrible to let down all the artists and the record labels and managers who sent them to Monaco on the understanding that the show would air in prime time on NBC," said the source.

In addition to running the awards, the "WMA" organization does charity work. According to its website, it has built 23 hospitals, schools and orphanages around the world. For now, fans of musicians who were at the show - which salutes artists from all over the world - can see who won on Twitter, which live-tweeted the event.

The awards were founded in 1989 and have doled out prizes to Michael Jackson and Bon Jovi, among others. The show went on hiatus in 2010; this year was supposed to bring its return to TV. A rep for NBC did not return a request for comment.

(Source: New York Daily News)