'Idol' Hand Ryan Seacrest Put to Work On the Emmys

"That's not what I do," he said.

Seacrest is more an "in the moment" guy, a "get out of the way" guy, an "accustomed to having a game plan in a live show but never really sticking to it" guy, an "the idea of being the focal point or center of attention by nailing the first 10 minutes 'cause I want to feel like a superstar is not part of the way I'm going to approach the show at all" guy.

In one of those happy coincidences, the show's executive producer, Ken Ehrlich, said in the announcement that Seacrest is a "perfect match" for all the changes he'd planned to make anyway in how this year's Emmycast is presented.

And what about all those Internet murmurings of "overexposure" and possible viewer Seacrest-exhaustion?

"Clearly I'm trying to play it under the radar," Seacrest said.

"I'd define the brand as under-the-radar and subtle."

In addition to the Super Bowl and the Emmys, the Seacrest flood-the-zone brand includes: managing editor and lead anchor of "E! News" on the E! cable network; host of the radio countdown show "American Top 40" and Los Angeles's No. 1 morning drive time radio show, "On Air With Ryan Seacrest"; and co-host of "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve" live from Times Square. Oh, and guest host on "Larry King Live," "The Billboard Music Awards" and the "Radio Music Awards."

Sadly, the Emmy-hosting gig means Seacrest likely will have to cut back on some of his annual Primetime Emmy Awards red-carpet arrivals orgy of excess coverage on E!

Seacrest says the cable net was "incredibly supportive" when he talked to its brass about hosting the Emmy show, and he still plans to exec-produce that net's arrivals program, but he may not be seen on air for the entire telecast. An E! rep was very nice but fairly useless in response to our efforts to nail down this point, saying Seacrest will "still have a presence" and they are "working out final details."

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And you thought comedy was dead on broadcast TV: Kevin Federline, Britney Spears's ex, is going to guest-star on the CW series "One Tree Hill" sometime in the coming TV season, the network announced yesterday. And that's not even the best part. CW says he's going to play an "enigmatic" frontman for a "seminal" rock band called No Means Yes.