Broadcast history of the Jerry Lewis MDA telethon in your market

[Tim from Springfield IL]

The post on the National TV board regarding the largest market not carrying the Jerry Lewis MDA telethon (whose national feed begins tonight) and the related discussion about when/which stations join the show in progress on Labor Day, etc. got me wondering. What is the broadcast history of the Jerry Lewis MDA telethon in the markets you are familiar with (such as stations carried and when; when the station began carrying only part of the show; etc.)?

(The lineup of stations carrying this year's telethon and the number of years they've carried it is also available through the MDA's telethon page at www.mda.org ).

Here in central and western Illinois:

Champaign/Decatur/Springfield: Carried by WCIA-3 (CBS) starting at 8PM Sunday since it first went national in 1970. After the former Springfield translator and repeater for WCIA, WCFN-49, switched to a standalone UPN (now MyNetwork) affiliate in 2002, Jerry's telethon continued to air on both channels 3 and 49 in 2003 and 2005 for sure (I hadn't quite moved here to Springfield for Labor Day 2002), but in 2004 and since 2006 WCFN has kept its separate programming while its sister station carried the telethon (with CBS US Open coverage moved over to channel 49 on Labor Day).

Quincy: WGEM-10 (NBC) has aired the telethon 35 years according to the site. I'm not sure if Jerry's telethon went unseen in the Quincy market in its first four years, or if there were four years that rival station KHQA-7 (CBS) might have picked it up.

Peoria/Bloomington: With the exception of five Labor Days from 1998-2002 that the telethon aired (from 7AM-7PM only) on WHOI-19 (ABC), the MDA telethon (including this year) has traditionally aired in its entirety (with perhaps a brief break for news at 10) on CBS affiliate WMBD-31 since the telethon went national.

Quad Cities (Davenport/Rock Island/Moline): Traditionally aired by WQAD-8 (ABC) (the MDA station list has them airing the telethon all but one year--not sure if they missed the first one in 1970). Until about the late '90s they also started airing the telethon at the traditional 8PM national start time (in fact, I recall in 1990 that WQAD actually got a local head start on the telethon and started airing the local portion as early as 7PM--likely preempting the then-megahit "America's Funniest Home Videos" for that Sunday night). The MDA telethon's broadcast history on WQAD is also synonymous with legendary news anchor Jim King (who was with the station from Day One on Aug. 1, 1963 until he passed away suddenly Jan. 2, 1999) who was the lead host for the local segments (after his death, starting with the 1999 telethon the Quad Cities location where the local segments were held was named the "Jim King Studios").

 

[Newname]

I thought the telethon was considered to have gone 'national'(or at least, airing outside New York) in 1966? 1970 may have been the first time the term 'Love Network' was used.

 

[Tim from Springfield IL]

Newname,

I probably should have clarified myself on when the MDA telethon first "went national"--I guess I was confusing it with the creation of the "Love Network" in 1970.

 

[dxnemo78]

Quote From: Tim from Springfield, IL

"Quincy: WGEM-10 (NBC) has aired the telethon 35 years according to the site. I'm not sure if Jerry's telethon went unseen in the Quincy market in its first four years, or if there were four years that rival station KHQA-7 (CBS) might have picked it up."

I seem to have a vague memory of the telethon being on KHQA the first time I was old enough to be aware of it, which would indeed have been around 36 years ago. But my "vague memories" have proven false before... ;D

Bill Wegman and Bob Turek did the local portions on WGEM for many years, and after Wegman's passing Turek stayed on with the "younger" hosts for several more. Bob always seemed to be my parents' favorite newsman, they would no sooner miss one of his newscasts as many of their generation would miss Walter Cronkite!

In the late 70's, several times it seems, WGEM would present a (pre-recorded) station aniversary special, hosted by Bill Wegman and pre-empting the first hour of NBC prime time on Labor Day evening. Not sure how many times, but I'm certain they did in '78 (their 25th year).

Would you happen to know how long ago KTVO-3 Kirksville-Ottumwa dropped the telethon? I'm thinking it's been a good 20 years or so. I also think last year WGEM went back to carrying the show in its entirety after several years of Monday morning and afternoon only coverage...

 

[Cincinnati Kid]

The telethon will be shown in Cincinnati on Channel 64 and in Dayton on Channel 22 although I don't think either station will pick it up until later on Monday.

It was first shown in Cincinnati in 1970 - perhaps 1969 - on WXIX, Channel 19, which was then an independent station. That lasted for some years and was also shown on WKRC-TV, Channel 12 for a time.

It is also available on cable from WGN starting tonight at 11 P.M. (Cincinnati time). I know in the past, WGN would break away from the telethon for Labor Day afternoon Cubs games then show the telethon via video tape delay following the game. In fact, the schedule I see calls for that to be done again this year.

 

[azumanga]

I guess I was confusing it with the creation of the "Love Network" in 1970.

Actually, the Love Network began in 1968, when WHEC Rochester, WTEV (WLNE) Providence, WKBG (WLVI) Boston and WGR(Z) Buffalo joined in. Prior to 1968, the telethon was seen only on WNEW (WNYW) in New York, though it was 1966 as being the first year of the modern big show format.

 

[azumanga]

In the Tampa Bay area, WTOG ch.44 carried the telethon from 1972 (at least) until 1983. WTSP ch.10 picked it up from 1984 to 1994. After the affiliation shift, WFTS picked it up in 1995 and still carries it today.

WTOG and WTSP always carried the telethon in its entirety, with WTSP breaking for the 11PM news some years. WFTS, at first, also carried the telethon in full (save for news) from 1995 to 1998. In 1999, they started the telethon at 10PM, due to "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" at 9PM. Shortly after that, they started after the 11PM news. The last few years, they started the telethon at 9AM on Labor Day. Last year, they moved the end time to 6PM, so they could do the news on time -- we still got to see the final national tote and Jerry's final song, which makes me wonder if other stations taped the final segment for stations that end the telethon at 6:30PM (or later).

WXLT / WWSB also carried the telethon as well, until a few years back, when they dropped it. The last several years, they always started the show after the late news.

 

[charlestondxman]

In Charleston, our local CBS station, WCSC has run the telethon for 31 years, and for almost all of those years, it has run the entire 21 1/2 hours.

They don't even preempt for news, as it just goes straight through from 9pm Sunday to 6:30pm on Monday. It sends the U.S. Open coverage to the local Comcast channel, C2.

Savannah only carries it from 9am to 6:30pm on WSAV, as they have cut much of their hours from the telethon.

The Myrtle Beach area doesn't carry the telethon, and Columbia's WOLO joins the telethon at 11:00pm.

 

[Tim L]

In Cleveland:
1970-74 WKBF-61

1975-97 WJW-8

1998-Present WBNX-55

In Akron-Canton

1970-76 WJAN-17

1977-95 WAKR/WAKC-23

(Not sure if they carried it all those years..It would seem that by 1996, when local news was dropped and they became PAX/ION, they stopped carrrying the Telethon)

 

[johnnya2k6]

In Fairbanks, KFAR-TV/KTTU/KATN started carrying the telethon on a 12-hour tape delay in 1974; that was before it was beamed via satellite some years later. They had it until 1995 after new ownership led to KTVF picking it up in 1996.

KENI/KTUU has had the telethon in Anchorage since the early '70s as well (I think; I don't have the time right now to go through microfilms of the Anchorage papers to confirm this).

 

[Andy Coleman]

WSFA in Montgomery, Alabama aired Jerry Lewis Telethon during the 1980's and they aired from 8 pm central on Sunday night and went until the next night monday at 6pm. then in middle 90's WSFA dropped the telethon and WAKA started aireing it. I can remember liveing in Evergreen, Alabama and my family we couldn't afford satelitte and we watched Jerry's telethon on labor day every year.

 

[KML0224]

Jerry was carried by WFSB-TV (CBS) channel 3 of Hartford for many years. They carried the enitre show from Sunday at 9 PM eastern until Monday 6:30 PM eastern with only a small break at 11 PM for their newscast. About 5 years ago, it moved over to WTIC-TV (FOX) channel 61 of Hartford. Like channel 3 used to, they did a taped insert (during the 10 PM news) with 10 PM news anchors Brent Hardin and Susan Christensen thanking everybody for their donations and saying how much was raised locally.

 

[perfidia08]

In Philadelphia, Jerry was a longtime Labor Day staple on WPVI-6. The telethon aired on 6 until the mid-1990s, reportedly moving from WPVI because ABC was tired of the station preempting its programming twice a year for telethons (Channel 6 also originated the Variety Club Telethon in the 1970s and '80s). The MDA telethon then moved to its current home on WPHL-17.

---perf08
_________________________________________________Corrections are welcome

 

[Kurt Toy]

In Pittsburgh, WPGH-53 carried it in 1970 [never saw it, I remember Milton Berle, of all people, pitching it while doing that station's promos for the coming fall season], and from 1971 on, WIIC/WPXI 11.

 

[LABreeze]

In the Tyler-Longview TX market if my memory serves me correctly, KLTV was at the time an NBC primary/ABC seondary and CBS secondary (for most of the Dallas Cowboys games). Since there are no other affiliates in East Texas at the time, they did run Jerry Lewis after the news about 10:30pm until about 5:30 central time. Around the late 70s or early 80s, they started running it from 8pm Sunday to 5:30pm Monday, with the exception of the 10pm newscast.

KTBS-TV 3, an ABC affiliate in Shreveport always ran the telethon after the 10pm newscast until 5:30pm. I'm not too sure if they are still running it or another station preferably KTAL may be running it (someone back me up on this).

 

[Bob1370]

In Rochester and Buffalo, NY it's been on the same stations (WHEC ch. 10 in Rochester and WGRZ ch. 2 in Buffalo) continuously since 1968.

 

[Ultimajock]

...I see that WLUK/11 Green Bay carried the telethon again this year. I think this may have been the 35th consecutive year they've done so...