To say the royal wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton will be a massive media revelry is, at best, an understatement. Every major U.S. and international news organization and cable channel is jockeying for position to broadcast live the British couple’s day of bliss.

Thirty years ago, Prince William’s parents’ wedding was the quintessence of royal watching. At the time, some 750 million people were said to have tuned in. This month, estimates of those who will be eyeing William and Kate tie the knot are as low as 1 billion viewers to as many as 2 billion. And it’s happening in the middle of the night for U.S. royal watchers.

The hoopla will begin long before Kate, who will become Princess Catherine upon her marriage, arrives at Westminster Abbey at 11 a.m. local time Friday. On the East Coast, plan to be in front of a TV or online at 4 a.m. to catch the pre-shows that start around 9 a.m. in London.

Cameras inside Westminster will be limited to eight news outlets from the U.K. and two international outlets, according to published reports. The BBC, of course, is one of them, but it’s still unclear which others will be allowed.

That’s why you’ll see national news anchors from Barbara Walters, Brian Williams and Katie Couric to celebrity watchers like Giuliana Rancic, Ryan Seacrest and Joan Rivers broadcasting live from outside Buckingham Palace and along the route to and from Westminster Abbey up to a week ahead of the big day.

Here’s a sample rundown of what to expect and how to see it:

CBS

“The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric,” the “Early Show” and CBS “Sunday Morning” will all highlight the wedding before, during and after with at least 15 anchors and reporters. Couric also is anchoring a one-hour primetime special this Friday called “The Royal Wedding: Modern Majesty.”

Even Charles Osgood is getting in on the coverage, anchoring “CBS Sunday Morning” with what the network said will be “more quirky and colorful aspects of royal unions through the ages.”

ABC

Already, Barbara Walters, who’s said to be a walking encyclopedia of all things royal, has offered a peek at the couple’s legend with “Special Edition of 20/20: William & Catherine: A Modern Fairytale” that aired Monday night.

She’ll be alongside anchor Diane Sawyer for live wedding-day coverage from Buckingham Palace that begins at 4 a.m. After that, Robin Roberts will co-anchor a live West Coast edition of “Good Morning America” from outside Westminster Abbey.

Besides two other special editions of “20/20” and “Good Morning America,” live-from-London broadcasts are slated for “ABC World News” with Diane Sawyer, “Nightline” and “GMA Weekend.” Today, “This Week” will preview “the wedding and all of the history and tradition that surrounds such an affair,” the network said.

But if you’re not around for any of those shows forget to record them, all the details and up-to-date news will be online at ABC’s Royal Diary blog with an interactive family tree of the royals and a guestbook.

NBC

It’s been tough to find out exactly what NBC is planning amid reports this week that it is paring back its schedule because, according to the New York Post, “it’s boring.”

Meredith Vieira and Matt Lauer are hosting what NBC is calling “an exclusive, behind-the-scenes” documentary of the making of the royal wedding.

Natalie Morales has been reporting live from London since Friday and Vieira joins her on Monday. Lauer, Ann Curry and Al Roker join the party on Thursday and, of course, for the wedding day coverage on Friday. Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb will be in on coverage on Friday.

Brian Williams is also anchoring “NBC Nightly News” from London and Martin Bashir will anchor MSNBC’s coverage from London. Even Joe Scarborough and friends and the “Morning Joe” show will be based in London the week ahead of the wedding.

That’s not all, though. “Dateline,” “Weekend Today,” “Weekend Nightly News,” “Way Too Early,” “Access Hollywood,” E!, Telemundo and, yes, the Weather Channel too, will all broadcast live from London.

CNN

Piers Morgan, a native Brit, is as pumped for the royal wedding as all of Green Bay was for the Super Bowl. He’s a self-proclaimed “monarchist” because of his two decades-long association with the royals.

He’s broadcasting his show from London all of this week and called the run-up to and live broadcast of the nuptials “ratings and circulation gold.” In American-ese, that would be “two Super Bowls and an ‘American Idol’ finale” all in one, he said.

Anderson Cooper and Kiran Chetry also will broadcast live from London and Soledad O’Brien will host a documentary on Kate.

BBC and BBC America

There will be no channel, news organization or online site with more access and coverage than the BBC, which will carry 5.5 hours of live, commercial-free coverage on BBC America through a simulcast with BBC ONE, the flagship network. The coverage, which will be broadcast from within Westminster Abbey as well as every major royal site in London, begins at 3 a.m.