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Jerry Lewis Telethon downsizing for 2011

F

fredcantu

TVWeek.com says "The annual Labor Day Jerry Lewis telethon to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association is undergoing a major change for 2011, reports the AP. Instead of the 20-plus-hour grind that has characterized the event throughout its history, the 2011 MDA Labor Day Telethon will be downsized to a six-hour prime-time program."

It will run 6pm-12m in each time zone with the East Coast getting the live version.
 
The whole idea is to focus the effort and attract bigger stars.
That can't help but be good news for the local stations.
Also, think of the staffing they'll all save over the Labor Day Weekend.
 
fredcantu said:
The whole idea is to focus the effort and attract bigger stars.
That can't help but be good news for the local stations.
Also, think of the staffing they'll all save over the Labor Day Weekend.
Click to expand...

Staffing costs at local stations for the telethon has always been high as employees get holiday pay (or should.)
 
They're saying 6pm-12m sunday night so there goes the holiday pay.
The local stations will also appreciate being able to showcase their talent in prime time (It will all be prime time.)
 
But still there's a problem with news -- while 6PM is not an issue in the middle time zones, 10PM is. Will the stations still show all six hours, or cut away at 10PM for news? In its original long form, stations that started the telethon at 8PM CT would cut away for news at 10PM; some stations would not begin the telethon until the next day, so it would keep the network programming and newscasts.
 
This may help more stations carry the whole show, instead of just bits and pieces of it. Also I'm sure that the money saved in the production costs will be used for more research.
 
Frankly, I'm surprised any stations still carry this. I think this signals the beginning of the end.
 
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