POP/ROCKM & M: Madonna and Michael Jackson...

POP/ROCK

M & M: Madonna and Michael Jackson are battling it out in Mexico City. Madonna fans snapped up all 50,000 tickets Friday in just six hours for her Nov. 10 concert at an outdoor speedway in the city. As a result, promoters added a Nov. 12 show. While fans were making plans to see the Blonde One, Jackson promoters on Friday announced Mexico City shows on Oct. 29-30. Those tickets have not yet gone on sale. Madonna plans to bring her own stage to Mexico, complete with 700 lights. Not to be outdone, Jackson promises 10,000 lights and fireworks at the city’s Aztec Stadium, where he’s set to perform.

TELEVISION

Anchored at KCOP: Ellen Leyva, currently an anchor at the CBS affiliate in Sacramento, will join Ross Becker as co-anchor of KCOP-TV Channel 13’s 10 p.m. newscast beginning Aug. 30. Leyva replaces Vicki Liviakis, who left the station this spring to join Fox’s prime-time news magazine, “Front Page.” KCOP’s format features anchors walking around the station’s high-tech newsroom, and includes long-form stories traditionally eschewed by most stations. “Ellen had the reporting credentials that are very important with our format,” said news director Jeff Wald. “This is more than being able to do a good read on a TelePrompTer. We wanted a good reporter.”

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Emmys Go Global: The Emmy Awards will be seen in 80 countries this year. The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced its agreement with Star TV to deliver the 45th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, which air on Sept. 19, to the 38 countries the satellite services, including Japan, Egypt and Indonesia. The Academy also has an agreement with Turner Network Television, Latin America to air the show to 24 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. The awards, on ABC in the United States, will also air throughout Europe.

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Soapy News: Last week, Randolph Mantooth and his Richard Halifax character checked out of “General Hospital.” Come September, Mantooth will be getting some “Loving.” Mantooth will reprise his Alex Masters role on the ABC serial. Once Mantooth arrives, look for a triangle involving Alex, Ava and Jeremy. . . . If you want to see your favorite soap stars saying their “I do’s,” ABC has put together three home videos under the title “ABC Daytime’s Greatest Weddings.” The videos, due out Sept. 15, chronicle decades’ worth of weddings on “All My Children,” “General Hospital” and “One Life to Live.”

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You’re As Young As You Feel: A veteran Hollywood group of stars, producers, writers, directors and network executives, led by Bob Hope, will hook up with government officials and university experts on aging for a daylong conference on how aging is portrayed in television. “Age Has a Future: Maturity and the Media” will take place Sept. 11 at the Academy Plaza Theater in North Hollywood.

AUCTIONS

A Whole New Sale: Artwork from Disney’s animated movie “Aladdin” will be on the block at Sotheby’s auction house in New York City on Oct. 9. The 250 cel set-ups showing scenes from the film are expected to go for $3,000 to $6,000. Proceeds from the sale of a specially-created artwork for the cover of the auction’s catalogue, showing characters Aladdin and Jasmine on a magic carpet, will be donated by Disney to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which grants wishes to terminally ill children.

QUICK TAKES

KLOS 95.5-FM’s deejays Mark and Brian are going to hell. The radio personalities have their first movie roles in “Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday;” they play cops in the New Line film, which opens Aug. 13. . . . Vince Gill and Clint Black have been named co-hosts of “The 27th Annual Country Music Assn. Awards,” which will air Sept. 29 on CBS. . . . Caroline Thompson, whose screenwriting credits include “Edward Scissorhands” and “The Addams Family,” will make her directorial debut with her own screenplay adaptation of Anna Sewell’s classic children’s story “Black Beauty.” Production on the Warner Bros. film is set to begin this month.