The TV Column: For ABC and Whitney Houston, a Game of Hoarse

Di was, of course, referring to her notorious December 2002 interview with Houston during the singer's Drugs-and-Bobby Brown period.

More than 20 million people had watched Houston stumble her way through that interview, in the course of which Houston acknowledged she had abused booze, pot, coke and pills. But she got her panties in a bunch when Di suggested Houston had done crack, snapping at Di:

"Let's get one thing straight -- crack is cheap. I make too much money to ever smoke crack! Let's get that straight, okay?! Crack is whack!"

That interview happened about a year after Houston made news when she appeared in a CBS Michael Jackson concert special and was so thin her back looked like the underside of a crab. This caused CBS to decide to digitally alter her image to add about 20 pounds to her frame -- and headlines to appear in tabloids declaring Houston had died.

Houston was ratings crack for the networks back then. And, ABC News and Oprah hope, remains so today.

"What was it in those seven years that brought you right here today?" Di asked Houston on Wednesday's tape-delayed chat.

"My faith. The love, the support of my family. . . . The support of friends, people that really care about you in the good, the bad and indifferent times," Houston said.

"I Look to You," responded Di, apropos of nothing, except that she needed to say the name of Houston's new album a few more times.

"And 'I Look to You' is you [and] you," said the new anchor of ABC's evening newscast, looking first at Houston, then heavenward.

Fox's Obamacare Headache

Having failed to persuade Fox broadcast network to carry his prime-time speeches dressed up as news conferences lately, President Obama has cleverly decided to outfox the network and actually give a speech next week in prime time to a joint session of Congress.

But then he went and picked Wednesday night for the address, forcing Fox to make the hard choice between the president of the United States and "Glee." Our money's on "Glee."

Fox has spent millions of dollars marketing that very night to viewers. It's the night the network is scheduled to air its first-ever fourth-quarter debut of "So You Think You Can Dance" at 8, followed by the premiere of "Glee," its highly touted one-hour musical comama (like a dramedy, only funnier).

Not to mention that Fox stands to lose the gross national product of a small third-world nation in ad revenue if it carries the address, having sold ad time that night at premiere broadcast rates. Show premieres generally command bigger audiences and, therefore, higher prices. At press time Fox had not officially said whether it would carry the president's address.

For the other networks, Wednesday night is not such a headache. CBS and ABC have reruns scheduled. NBC is scheduled to air an "America's Got Talent" results show at 9, and will ask that the address be delivered at 8.

And for CW, it's all good.

CW will unveil the new season of its flagship series, "America's Next Top Model: Short Chicks Edition" that night. CW shows always get bigger crowds when they air in the teeth of presidential news conferences/addresses to joint sessions of Congress on the other broadcast nets.

Obama is expected to continue to pitch his health-care reform plan during his address.