Telethon

Not to be confused with marathon (television).

A telethon (a portmanteau of "television" and " marathon") is a fundraising event broadcast on television that lasts many hours or even days, the purpose of which is to raise money for a charitable, political, or other allegedly worthy cause. Most telethons feature heavy solicitations for pledges (promises to donate funds at a later time) combined with variety show style entertainment. The equivalent term for a radio broadcast is a radiothon; most radiothons do not include the entertainment.

History

United States

in 1949, Milton Berle hosted the first ever telethon, raising $1,100,000 for the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation over 16 hours. The first published appearance of the word "telethon" was in the following day's newspapers.

One of the first continuing annual telethons in the United States was the United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) telethon. Television executive Leonard Goldenson and his wife had a daughter with cerebral palsy, and with the help of other affected parents, launched the UCP Telethon in 1950, with early television personality Dennis James as host. He continued to host New York-based segments on the telethon through the 1980s. The telethon is now defunct as UCP raises funds through other means, including its website. By 1955 televised telethons had become a familiar enough part of American culture to be parodied that year in the film noir Tight Spot as comic relief.

The oldest continuing annual telethon in the United States on the same channel is Green Bay, Wisconsin WBAY-TV's local Cerebral Palsy telethon that began broadcasting 22 hours on the first weekend of March 1954. As of 2011, they have celebrated their 57th year of presenting the telethon, which helps provide financial support for equipment for Cerebral Palsy, Inc.

Close behind the Green Bay telethon in longevity is the WHAS Crusade for Children in Louisville, Kentucky, which broadcast its first telethon in October 1954 on WHAS-TV and WHAS Radio, six months after the first WBAY telethon. While the Crusade for Children is still broadcast on those same stations, it has expanded to radio and television stations in other parts of Kentucky and Indiana, as well as streaming video on the Internet. The Crusade is famous for the legions of firefighters who collect money at road blocks at intersections throughout the area each May and June. The Crusade annually collects more than $5 million in donations for a variety of child-related charities and causes, and remains the most successful local telethon in the United States.

The most-broadcast telethon to date was the January 22, 2010 Hope for Haiti Now telethon, to aid the victims of the January 10th earthquake. It offered the possibility for viewers to text donations on cell phones, and raised a reported $58 Million dollars by the next day.

Examples

America

United States

In the United States, telethons are held for various Charitable organizations; as of 2012, however, no national telethons currently exist. The longest-running national telethon in the United States was the Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon, which was staged for over 21 hours each Labor Day to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association between 1966 and 2010. Over the course of 2011 and 2012, the telecast was trimmed down to six hours, and then to a three-hour pre-taped benefit concert, thus no longer serving as a telethon in the traditional sense; the 2012 event has since been renamed the MDA Show of Strength. (Founder Jerry Lewis also departed the organization on less than amicable terms at the same time the changes were announced.) In the past, other charities such as the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, United Cerebral Palsy and the Children's Miracle Network produced telethons on a nationwide or regional basis.

Public radio and public television stations, such as those affiliated with National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), as well as independent community radio stations such as WFMU, produce annual pledge drives which are similar in format to telethons, but instead use brief breaks between regular programs to appeal for funds. On PBS affiliates the recent practice of pre-produced pledge breaks has become common. Often during pledge drives, special television programs will air which will air short segments surrounded by extensive telethon-style solicitations that may take more time in a particular hour than the programming itself.

Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), a religious television network, hosts non-stop, week-long, semi-annual telethons called "Praise-a-Thons". The Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN)/ The 700 Club stages a modified form of a telethon three times a year, which runs for approximately one week but is shown for only an hour or so each day. (In its early days, CBN's telethons were of the more traditional round-the-clock form. This format ended when the ministry sold its Family Channel, which no longer gave it access to a round-the-clock outlet for such telethons. However, on the Sunday before the Super Bowl, CBN continues to produce a 12-hour telethon which airs on ABC Family and syndicated television stations; the time to air the program on the channel was a condition inserted in the deal by Pat Robertson in 1998 to sell The Family Channel to News Corporation, and remained in force after the channel's resale to the Walt Disney Company. Other religious stations and networks hold telethons as well, including West Coast Chabad Lubavitch since 1980.

For a brief time in the early-1970s, beginning in 1972, the Democratic Party even held annual telethons (two were called "America Goes Public" and "Answer, America!") to help it erase a multi-million dollar debt (This may have provided the inspiration for the 1979 film comedy Americathon, where a telethon is held to prevent national bankruptcy). The telethon idea was created and promoted by John Y. Brown, Jr., the businessman who built Kentucky Fried Chicken into a worldwide chain and later became governor of Kentucky.

Local telethons, once a common fixture in nearly every major city in the United States, are now rare but still found in a handful of cities, including Louisville, Kentucky ( WHAS Crusade for Children), Buffalo, New York (Kids Escaping Drugs telethon for youth drug rehabilitation, broadcast annually by WGRZ; and the Variety Club Telethon, held each winter on WKBW-TV for Variety, the Children's Charity); Green Bay, Wisconsin (the Cerebral palsy telethon on WBAY-TV), and Erie, Pennsylvania (the Community for Kanzius Telethon on WICU and WSEE for the Kanzius Cancer Research Foundation). New York City also features a telethon of sorts; the WFAN Radiothon, by virtue of its two drive time shows being simulcast on cable television, has portions covered on television. Since 2010, this has included the portion covering Boomer and Carton in the Morning on MSG Network and Mike's On on YES Network. From 2002 to 2007, the shows in question were Imus in the Morning on MSNBC and Mike and the Mad Dog on YES; Imus has since revived radiothons on his current homes, WABC and Fox Business Network.

Garden City High School in Garden City, Kansas holds annual telethons to help fund the school's broadcasting, debate and forensics teams.

On December 14, 2012, Univisión introduced the first ever Spanish-language telethon in the United States under the name Teletón USA, which was hosted by Sábado Gigante's very own Don Francisco. The total donation in the first edition was $8,150,625, a 16% increase from the $7,000,000 goal.

Canada

There are no annual national telethons in Canada, although as in the U.S., many local children's hospitals operate regional telethons in collaboration with Children's Miracle Network in early June.

Notable regional telethons (outside of CMN) include:

• Telemiracle (March) in Saskatchewan benefiting the Kinsmen Foundation and currently seen on CTV stations in Saskatchewan. Since its inception in 1977, Telemiracle has raised over $100 million, including the record $5.9 million in the 2012 edition, held in Regina. The 2013 edition raised $5.5 million.
• Christmas Daddies (December), benefiting underprivileged children in Atlantic Canada and broadcast on CTV Atlantic stations.
• Show of Hearts (February) in British Columbia, supporting Variety, the Children's Charity and seen on CHAN-TV.
• CTV-Lion's Club Children's Christmas Telethon (December), buys Christmas presents for underprivileged children in Northern Ontario and broadcast on CTV Northern Ontario stations. Features local musical talent.

Chile

The major Chilean television networks hold an annual telethon called Teletón to raise funds to help children with developmental disabilities (most commonly cerebral palsy) in Instituto de Rehabilitación Infantil ("Infant Rehabilitation Institute") centers. The Chilean telethon host has always been Mario Kreutzberger, also known as Don Francisco, who is the symbol of "La Teletón" in Chile. The telethon is an event of national unity and is proportionally, the most widely watched telethon in the world.

There is also a local telethon running, the Days for the Disabled Magellanic Children (Jornadas por el Niño Impedido Magallánico), to raise funds to help disabled children of the Magallanes and Última Esperanza provinces, in an effort led by the local Lions Club. The 2006 Days raised US$ 515.000.

During March 2010 a special telethon called Chile ayuda a Chile ( Chile helps Chile) was transmitted to raise money to help those affected by the 2010 Chile earthquake that struck the southern part of central Chile on 27 February of that year. The aim was to raise $15,000,000,000 Chilean Pesos for the construction of 30 thousand emergency homes in the disaster area. In the end, that amount tripled, having been gathered over 46 billion Chilean pesos (90 million dollars).

Honduras

Since 1987, all television networks in Honduras hold a 27-hour telethon every December to raise funds to help children with disabilities in support of "Fundación Teleton" (Telethon Foundation), a charity under the leadership of businessman Rafael Ferrari. Many international artists, television presenters and journalists participate in the event. TACA Airlines provides free transportation for international invitees. Local banks are open around-the-clock during the Telethon, to enable viewers to donate through their local banks.

Mexico

Like Chile and Honduras in December of every year since 1997 the Mexican television network Televisa, in conjunction with all other major networks networks except TV Azteca, hold a 24-hour telethon with the purpose to raise funds to help children with disabilities. The event is organized by the "Fundación Teletón".

During the transmission of the event especially in the television broadcasting many Mexican media personalities shows testimonies of children and their families who overcame their disabilities. The final act with the Telethon is a concert in the Estadio Azteca with the performance of many national and international artists and singers. Because Televisa programming also airs in the United States on Univision and border city Televisa stations, some additional contributions and pledges come from American viewers.

Brazil

The marathon broadcast under the name "Teleton" by Sistema Brasileiro de Televisão (SBT), TV Cultura, Rede Brasil de Televisão, and portal UOL since 1998. The project was conceived by Décio Goldfarb, Clovis Scripilliti and Hebe Camargo who asked the owner of the station, Silvio Santos to transmit the program. The collections are passed on to "Associação de Assistência à Criança Deficiente" (AACD).

Europe

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, The ITV Telethons were three charity telethons organised and televised in the UK by the ITV network. They took place in 1988, 1990 and 1992. Each lasted for 27 hours and all were hosted by Michael Aspel.

Regular telethons are held for charitable groups such as Comic Relief's Red Nose Day and Sport Relief, and the BBC's Children in Need. Some of these occur every year, with millions of pounds sterling raised to support various charities. They usually include music artists, sketches, and other various sections, usually with videos in between each section or song to promote the charity that money is being raised for - usually children in either Africa or the United Kingdom. In 2012/2013 Children in Need raised £26 million and Comic relief £75 million; a combined total of £101 million ($151 million). This is the equivalent of £1.60 ($2.40)per head of population.

Ireland

In Ireland the RTÉ People in Need Telethon has been held roughly every 2 years in May, since 1988, although there was no Telethon in 2003 due to Special Olympics and the sponsorship/volunteering needed, and it has been moved to October 26 in 2007. During the Telethon in 2004, over 4,000 fundraising events were organised by people nationwide, and proceeds were subsequently distributed to almost 760 projects in the 26 counties. Since its inception in 1988, over €35 million has been raised by the People in Need through the RTÉ People in Need Telethon, supporting a wide variety of charitable organisations nationwide. Eight Telethons have been held to date and over €35 million has been distributed in grants, ranging from €150 to €50,000, to thousands of organisations throughout Ireland. Grant applications are assessed by advisory committees in each region before final approval by the Board of Directors of the Trust. Money raised in each county, stays in each county.

Austria

"Licht ins Dunkel" (literally: light into the dark) is an annual telethon held in Austria for disabled persons.

France

In France, since 1987, an annual Téléthon, for the muscular dystrophy charity in France (see also Decrypthon), L'Association française contre les myopathies, is held by France 2 on the first or second weekend in December, with the support of France 3 and France 5, and the public radio networks ( France Inter, France Info, France Bleu). Several events are organized all around France. Donations are made by telephone or at the Téléthon's website ( http://www.telethon.fr/), or on mobile web portals, as well as through SMS messaging (and also Minitel in the past). The 2007 edition has earned €96,228,136 (US$141,089,693) during the TV show and €102.3 million after final collection.

Italy

In Italy, since 1990, Telethon is also held by RAI in December, and in 2006 (held on 15–17 December) donors had raised €30,740,000 for research into cures for genetic diseases. By 2009, a total of €284,000,000 have been collected since 1990.

Spain

In Catalonia, public television broadcaster Televisió de Catalunya broadcasts an annual telethon ( Marató de TV3) for several diseases. In 2012, it raised €10,113,452 for cancer research. €116,729,614 have been collected in its 21 years. At present, la Marató is the telethon that gets more money per inhabitant, with more than 1.33 €/inhab.

Asia

Japan

In Japan, Nippon Television hosts its annual telethon titled 24 Hour Television: "Love Saves the Earth" ( 24時間テレビ　「愛は地球を救う」, Niju-yojikan Terebi: "Ai wa Chikyuu wo Sukuu") during the final weekend of August, broadcast live from the Nippon Budokan arena. Started in 1978, its objective is to raise funds for various charities that aid the sick, the handicapped, victims of war and natural disasters around the world and environmental programmes. Every year, during the live broadcast, a popular television personality attempts to run a 100 km marathon for this worthy cause. Despite its title, the telethon runs for approximately 27 hours.

The 2011 telethon's funds were donated to organizations which will help rebuild the prefectures that were damaged in the 2011 Tohoku earthquake.

『 FNS27時間テレビ』 of variety was started nine years after 24-hour television in Fuji Television. Broadcast is the 4th Saturday in July one month before 24-hour television.

Israel

In Israel, for many years an annual telethon is held for those serving in the Israeli Defense Forces ( IDF). A telethon is called teletrom in Hebrew (Hebrew טלתרום), "trom" meaning donate. Telethons have also been held for endangered children on Israeli channel 2, the broadcast is called "Yom Tov" (Hebrew "יום טוב"), meaning "Good Day" in English. Telethons in Israel usually earn high ratings but have come under criticism for over commercialism.

Oceania

Australia

Perth
In Western Australia, the annual Channel Seven Perth Telethon is run by TVW, a Seven Network affiliate in Perth, Western Australia and broadcast statewide through TVW in Perth and GWN7 throughout the rest of Western Australia. All major media are involved in the Telethon including W.A.'s two major newspapers The Sunday Times and The West Australian as well as radio stations Mix 94.5, 92.9, Nova 93.7, 96FM and 6PR. The two major beneficiaries of Telethon have always been Princess Margaret Hospital for Children and the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research. However, each year there are numerous other beneficiaries (in 2011, there were 38 beneficiaries). Across the weekend of November 10 & 11, 2012, Channel 7 Perth's Telethon raised a record A$16.8 million. Since 1968 Telethon has raised A$133 million (to the end of 2012). The annual continuous broadcast runs from 6.30pm Saturday until 9pm Sunday. The Perth Telethon is widely regarded as the highest fundraising telethon (per capita) in the world.

A number of international celebrities have visited Perth to appear on the Telethon, such as Michael Jackson, Celine Dion, Harry Connick, Jr., Stevie Wonder, Phyllis Diller, Bea Arthur, Sammy Davis Jr., Tina Turner, Julian Lennon, Whitney Houston, Def Leppard (live from NIB Stadium in 2011), Elton John (live from the opening night of Perth Arena in 2012) and Hugh Jackman. A number of Australian television personalities and actors also fly across the country for the weekend including stars from Sunrise, The Morning Show, Dancing With The Stars, Australia's Got Talent, X-Factor, Packed To The Rafters, Winners & Losers and Home & Away.

Melbourne
Channel HSV 7 Melbourne has the Good Friday Appeal telethon, which is run for the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne on Good Friday every year. It airs across Victoria all day on Seven Network station HSV and Prime Television. It also has a print and radio component via Melbourne's Herald Sun newspaper as well as radio station Mix 101.1. In 2007 the radio partner was Southern Cross Broadcasting. The event has become a part of Melbourne culture every year, and continues to bring in record fund raising efforts across the entire state. In 2011 the appeal raised A$15.1 million.

Adelaide
NWS9 in Adelaide had Telethon broadcasts throughout the 1960s and 1970s including raising money for "The House Of Hope" a home that would be built each year for Telethon. Local TV stars from all channels would drop into Channel 9 across the live broadcast weekend all for the sake of Telethon. Musicians from interstate would also travel to Adelaide for the marathon broadcast that went all day and all night. It was the only time of the year that a television station continued to broadcast overnight.

In the 1970s SAS10 Adelaide created the Children's Medical Research Foundation and the "Channel 10 Christmas Appeal" with stars from the network flying into Adelaide for the weekend live broadcast from SAS10 studios in Gilberton. Stars included actors from popular Channel 10 TV show "Number 96" and "The Box". Game show host Gary Meadows was the anchor for most years. Once again, it was the only time of the year that a television station continued to broadcast overnight. This is where the catchy tune "thank you very much for your kind donation" originated, which wqould be played whenever a major donation was announced during the broadcast with members of the cast forming a conga line and dancing around the studio.

Newcastle
NBN Television in Newcastle, New South Wales regularly held telethons every 2 years throughout the 1970s and 1980s for local charities such as children's hospitals and cancer units. However with aggregation and the station being affiliated in the early 1990s these went by the wayside but a few have still be held in that since. The last being in 2002

Sydney
In Sydney, Nine Network station TCN broadcasts the Gold Week Telethon on the second Monday of June ( the Queen's Birthday), in benefit for the Sydney Children's Hospital. Established in 2010, the telethon serves as a finale for a week of fundraising for the hospital, known as "Gold Week", which generally runs the first week of June. Award winning auctioneer James Pratt from McGrath Estate Agents on Sydney's Eastern suburbs was an auctioneer with the 2012 Channel Nine Sydney Children's Hospital Gold week telethon. http://southern-courier.whereilive.com.au/photos/gallery/gold-week-socials/

One Off Telethons

Throughout Australia there have been several nationwide Telethons in the 2000s. One to aid victims of the 2004 Tsunami that hit parts of Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India which killed over 200,000 people. This Telethon was simulcast by The Seven Network, Nine Network and Network Ten. There were other Telethon's around the world raising money for the same event.

On February 12, 2009, the Nine Network held a special Telethon to benefit the victims of the 2009 Victorian bushfires, through the Australian Red Cross. Titled Australia Unites - The Victorian Bushfire Appeal, the event was hosted by Nine Network personality Eddie McGuire, and accompanied by many celebrities, athletes and entertainers. Some of the celebrities to have appeared included Russell Crowe, Nicole Kidman, Keith Urban, Orlando Bloom, Hugh Jackman, Anthony La Paglia, Rachel Griffiths and Simon Baker. Rove McManus from rival Ten Network made a special guest appearance. The telethon raised about A$20.5 million from pledges.

On January 9, 2011, the Flood Relief Appeal: Australia Unites telethon, in response to the 2010–2011 Queensland floods, was broadcast by the Nine Network from Brisbane's Suncorp Piazza raised more than A$10 million in pledged aid.

New Zealand

Telethons were run nationwide in New Zealand in 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1985, 1988, 1990 and 1991 by TVNZ and later, CanWest's TV3 in 1993 and 2009.

The 24 hour fund-raiser would take place in regions around New Zealand with TVNZ coverage being shown on TV1, (although 1975-1979, 1990 and 1991 were hosted by TV2). Viewers would be shown coverage of the Telethon nearest their location. Smaller regions would typically see coverage of the Telethon in one of the main centres (Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch or Dunedin). The 1975 Telethon was hosted by the then NZBC studios of the four main centres, though only broadcast in Auckland and Christchurch as TV2 was yet to be transmitted in other centers. But after the first Telethon, the rest were hosted in large exhibition halls and indoor stadiums as the public soon flocked in their thousands to be seen on TV and to watch the entertainment live.

After the first Telethon in 1975, broadcast within a week of new channel TV2's launch, and which raised over $585,000 for St John Ambulance, each Telethon outdid the previous total for several years, peaking in 1985 with over $6 million, and a mere one month later TVNZ participated in the LiveAid global telethon bringing in $1.8 million for New Zealand's contribution. The largest undertaking including smaller regional centres with host locations was 1988. However the economic climate at the time saw money raised drop in 1988 ($5 million) and 1990 ($4 million) while hosting costs soared.

In 1991 an emergency fund-raising 16 hour telethon was hurriedly arranged after a devastating cyclone flattened most of Western Samoa. The total raised was just over $1.5 million with the NZ Government matching the amount dollar for dollar taking the total to just over $3 million.

The last nationwide event was to raise funds for the Starship Children's Hospital in 1993, TV 3 being the host. Events focussed on the main venue at TV3's Auckland studios, with roving crews reporting from around the country. The event raised just over $3.5million.

Since Telethon ceased on nationwide New Zealand Television some regional stations have operated their own local Telethon to fund local facilities and the like.

TV3 broadcast a 23-hour Telethon "The Big Night In" to support KidsCan which aired on New Zealand Televisions on 8–9 August 2009. $1,944,225 was raised.

Worldwide

For 9 years, Armenia Fund held an annual international Telethon that was broadcast to all major U.S. cities and across the globe. The 12 hour live program is able to raise millions for humanitarian and infrastructure development programs in Armenia and Karabakh. The annual telethon is held on Thanksgiving every year. During Armenia Fund's 10th International Telethon, held on November 22, 2007, a record breaking $15.3 million was raised. The program aired from KCET Hollywood Studio and was broadcast in the United States, as well as internationally.

The 2004 Asian tsunami also led to telethons being held in countries such as Canada ( CTV and OmniTV), United States ( NBC) and Australia (a joint telecast between the Seven Network, Nine Network and Network Ten).

Other types

Similar to telethons, but considerably shorter, are nationally televised benefit concerts following major disasters such as the 9/11 attacks, the Indian Ocean tsunami, Hurricane Katrina and the 2010 Haiti earthquake. These are generally three-time broadcasts meant to spur immediate humanitarian contributions, not part of the annual donation drives of the charities involved. Typically a phone number or website will appear on screen during the entire concert for donors to make pledges, but there may not necessarily be a live host announcing .