UPDATE: CBS and NBC have now decided to jump on the live coverage bandwagon.

Not a winner in the Michael Jackson memorial lottery? Not a problem. You can still get a front row viewing while sparing yourself the cost of a flight.

Although 17,500 get the chance to be in either the Staples Center or the Nokia Theater, free television coverage will allow everyone an opportunity to witness the events as they unfold.

According to a release from the Jackson family, participants at Tuesday’s memorial include Kobe Bryant, Mariah Carey, Berry Gordy, Jennifer Hudson, Shaheen Jafargholi (finalist on Britain’s Got Talent), Magic Johnson, Martin Luther King III, Bernice A. King, John Mayer, Lionel Richie, Smokey Robinson, Rev. Al Sharpton, Brooke Shields, Usher and Stevie Wonder.

So far ABC is the only major network that has made plans to carry the memorial live. (Charles Gibson will anchor the coverage.) Although CBS will assign Katie Couric to the event, it’s currently unclear whether they will interrupt daytime programming. NBC, in the meantime, will just wrap the footage up in a one-hour primetime special. Other channels on board for live coverage include CNN, MSNBC, E! and MTV.

Assuming everything runs on schedule (a private service will be held beforehand), the public memorial should begin at 10:00 AM PST.