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Goodbye MDA Telethon; Hello "Show of Strength"

Well I won't be watching. As I've said before, all elements of the former Jerry Lewis Telethon [performances, toteboard, "What the World Needs Now", etc.] are all GONE. It's turned into a three-hour infomercial. Sad. :(

-crainbebo
 
It feels like what the Children's Miracle Network telethon was in it's last couple years; an infomercial-like program which sadly is easily tuned past and will be ignored on what is a night of repeats in the first place. The point of a telethon is to be a unique show that is compelling to watch, not just fill time with an appeal better made in a three-minute YouTube video.
 
One thing I still didn't get is how last year's telethon, a 6-hour special on Sunday evening, topped the totes of the 2010 version -- the last true telethon and the last hosted by Jerry Lewis? Considering that Sundays was rerun-laden on the other channels with very few people watching, I'm still puzzled over that. I won't be surprised if this year's totes top last year's despite being on only for three hours -- then we'll know something's really up at the MDA.
 
Wow...WTRF-TV (Wheeling, West Virginia) is not running this telethon anymore? The closest outlet to us is Pittsburgh? I'm now wondering how many stations/markets have now dropped out.
 
According to the list, WJTC-TV in the Mobile, Alabama-Pensacola, Florida TV market will not broadcast the telethon again for the second year in a row. WJTC-TV used the broadcast the telethon every year since 1996.
 
I cannot open that station affiliate list ??? I don't have a problem opening any other .pdf file. Weird.

azumanga said:
One thing I still didn't get is how last year's telethon, a 6-hour special on Sunday evening, topped the totes of the 2010 version -- the last true telethon and the last hosted by Jerry Lewis? Considering that Sundays was rerun-laden on the other channels with very few people watching, I'm still puzzled over that. I won't be surprised if this year's totes top last year's despite being on only for three hours -- then we'll know something's really up at the MDA.
Click to expand...

I suspect that MDA added the 2010 total to the 2011 total. I saw most of last years... telethon :-\ and while it wasn't horrible, I cannot see people donating over $61 million of donations over the course of three hours, especially in a down economy. If it was possible, the U.S. federal government would be doing it every week ;D

But if anyone wants to see it LIVE (you know, how it used to be before Jerry Lewis was fired and forgotten), here's a way: We are casting the pit portion of the audience! Good luck getting tickets!
 
I'll still tune in, simply because it's three hours! It has always been my tradition every Labor Day.

But like I said on my blog last year, MDA has finally realized that there is other television to watch on Labor Day weekend these days as compared to 20, 30, or 40 years ago, and trimming their annual event down from 21 hours to six last year to now three seems apt. And hey, today's telethons are usually three to four hours in primetime, which is an excuse to preempt network programming (you can always watch them online).
 
WGN in Chicago still part of "The Love Network". Now they won't have to choose between dumping out of the telethon for a Cubs game because the telethon will be just as long as the Cubs game! :D
 
This is a good move. Nothing can replace Jerry. He was going to depart from the show at some point anyway. This keeps the organization visible in their traditional slot and keeps the MDA visibility going.

I'll tune in.
 
"Casting" - in the event a reality show breaks out in the studio audience? I don't get it.
 
If it's now the Show of Strength, perhaps the airing date should be moved from
Labor Day to Festivus? ???
 
Actually, what I'd like to see is those performers who could perform live on the telecast between 8 and 11 P.M. EDT on September 2nd should do so, with those unable to make it taping their parts of the show at an earlier time.

The show should also be shown live across all time zones, so we can still have the tote board.

I think part of the telethon's appeal was the fact it was broadcast live.

Interestingly enough, this is the second straight year that MDA has made major changes. It was just last year that the show was shrunk from 21 hours (9 P.M. EDT Sunday-6 P.M. EDT Monday) to six (6 P.M.-12 Midnight EDT Sunday) and Jerry Lewis got canned.

I think there will be one more change in the future, perhaps as soon as next year: The show may be broadcast on the evening of Labor Day (Monday) instead of the Sunday night of that weekend. Many people are nowhere near a TV set on Sunday night of Labor Day weekend. On Labor Day itself, people come home from their holiday weekend travels (in most places, schools open the following day for the start of the new academic year) and those who were home prior to 6 P.M. EDT would tune into the telethon. That also explains why half of the total amount of money raised during the 21-hour telethon era would come in during the last six or seven hours of the telethon.

If only we could hear Jerry sing "You'll Never Walk Alone" at the end of "Show Of Strength".....
 
Of course, three other reasons why the MDA show has shrunk so much are related:

(1) I think the networks cringe when some of their big affiliates (like WCVB-5 Boston, KPRC-2 Houston, WPXI-11 Pittsburgh, and KSDK-5 St. Louis) pre-empted the network for the telethon.

Especially:

(2) Many CBS affiliates would be wary of carrying the old 21-hour telethon format since the network usually carries seven hours (11 A.M.-6 P.M. EDT) coverage of the U.S. Open tennis tournament on Labor Day.

(3) Likewise, many NBC affiliates would be wary of the old 21-hour format since the network carries the final round of the PGA's Boston Open every year on Labor Day afternoon (usually from 2 to 6 P.M. EDT).

The shrinking of the show may have as much to do with network-station relations as it does to trying to package a faster-paced, slickly-packaged show.
 
Joseph_Gallant said:
I think there will be one more change in the future, perhaps as soon as next year: The show may be broadcast on the evening of Labor Day (Monday) instead of the Sunday night of that weekend. Many people are nowhere near a TV set on Sunday night of Labor Day weekend. On Labor Day itself, people come home from their holiday weekend travels (in most places, schools open the following day for the start of the new academic year) and those who were home prior to 6 P.M. EDT would tune into the telethon. That also explains why half of the total amount of money raised during the 21-hour telethon era would come in during the last six or seven hours of the telethon.
Click to expand...

Which comes to the reason why some of us thought that the $61 million raised last year was a ruse, as in its original long form, the telethon didn't reach its first million until about three hours in on Sunday night.
 
I thought they admitted last year that the final total included coroprate donations, which had always been counted separately when Jerry was around.
 
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