Lifetime Repackages Rihanna ABC Interview

Later this week, Lifetime will air a co-branded special called “Rihanna Speaks Out: A Lifetime and 20/20 Special,” reports B&C. The special will feature segments from the popstar’s sit down with ABC News’ Diane Sawyer that aired earlier this month on “20/20″ and “Good Morning America.”

This is not the first time that Lifetime has re-aired ABC News interview footage, but it’s unusual for the network to run an interview like this so soon after its original airing. Lifetime licensed the program from ABC for four airings and is also broadcasting a movie that deals with domestic abuse in conjunction with the special.

An ABC News spokesperson tells us that it made sense for this particular interview to rerun sooner because of its timeliness and because of the response it garnered — calls to the national domestic violence hotline for teens went up 73% after the interview’s original airing.

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