HLN hoping Conrad Murray is another Casey Anthony

Opening statements in the trial of Dr. Conrad Murray, accused of involuntary manslaughter in the 2009 death of Michael Jackson, are less than a week away. And CNN-owned HLN, which saw record ratings during the Casey Anthony trial earlier this year, is planning similarly exhaustive coverage.

Calling itself "America's television destination for coverage of the trial of Dr. Conrad Murray," HLN is planning gavel-to-gavel coverage each day beginning at 11 a.m. ET, including pre- and post-trial analysis from inside and outside the Los Angeles County Courthouse, where the case is being tried.

Beginning Sept. 27, every hour of HLN programming will feature special coverage of the trial, led by HLN's star, Nancy Grace, and its primetime lineup of Dr. Drew, Joy Behar and "Showbiz Tonight" with A.J. Hammer.

The network will air part one of a two-part documentary hosted by Grace, "The Death of Michael Jackson: Dr. Conrad Murray on Trial" on Saturday, Sept. 24 at 9 p.m. ET. Part two will air after a verdict is reached.

HLN--and cable news in general--is already having an effect on the trial. Murray's lawyers are asking potential jurors to fill out a questionnaire listing which cable news shows they watch--including Grace's.

In July, coverage of the Casey Anthony trial led HLN to triple its viewership compared to the same month last year. The network doubled its pool of prime-time viewers, topping both its parent company CNN and MSNBC for second place—behind Fox—among cable news networks.

On July 5, more than 5.2 million viewers tuned in to HLN between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. ET to learn that the Orlando, Fla., jury found Anthony not guilty of killing her 2-year-old daughter Caylee, according to Nielsen estimates--HLN's best-ever ratings ever for a single hour.