Telethon
A telethon (a
event that lasts many hours or even days, the purpose of which is to raise money for a charitable, political or other purportedly worthy cause.Most telethons feature heavy solicitations for pledges (promises to donate funds at a later time) by masters of ceremonies or hosts, who are often local celebrities or media personalities combined with variety show style entertainment such as singers, bands and instrumentalists. In some cases, telethons feature content related to the cause being supported, such as interviews with charitable beneficiaries, tours of charity-supported projects, or pre-taped sequences. The equivalent term for a radio broadcast is a radiothon; most radiothons do not include live entertainment.
In the United States, the first telethon used for political outreach occurred in 1960.[1]
History
United States
In 1949, Milton Berle hosted the first-ever telethon, raising $1,100,000 for the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation over the course of 16 hours.[2][3] 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, station WBAY-TV (channel 2)'s local Cerebral Palsy telethon,[4][5] which helps provide financial support for equipment for Cerebral Palsy, Inc., that began broadcasting as a 22-hour event on the first weekend of March 1954. As of 2016, WBAY has presented the telethon for 62 years.
Close behind the Green Bay telethon in longevity is the WHAS Crusade for Children in Louisville, Kentucky, which began in October 1954 on WHAS-TV (channel 11) and WHAS radio (840 AM).[6] It is still broadcast on the two WHAS stations despite their being owned by different entities for three decades, and has expanded to radio and TV stations in other parts of Kentucky and Indiana, as well as a live stream on the internet. The Crusade is famous for the legions of firefighters who collect money at roadblocks at intersections throughout the area each May and June.
The most-broadcast telethon to date was 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 by the next day. It was designed to show viewers a stark divide between them and the people surviving this catastrophic event.[7][8]
Australia
Melbourne's Good Friday Appeal, which began in 1931, started its telethon in 1957 after the Seven Network joined as a sponsor.[9]
Adelaide's first telethon was held at the Tynte Street, North Adelaide, studios of NWS9 in December 1960. One fundraiser was Barry Jones, then famous as a quiz champion. Viewers could, for a fee, attempt to "stump" him with their favorite question.[10]
Prior to the establishment of their annual telethon in 1968, Perth station TVW broadcast one-off telethons for bushfire relief in 1961, and to raise funds for Christmas care packages sent to Western Australian soldiers serving in Vietnam in 1966 and 1967.[11]
Examples
The Americas
United States
In the United States, telethons are held for various charitable organizations; as of 2014, however, no national telethons currently exist.[12]
The longest-running national telethon in the United States was
Some radio stations produce annual pledge drives which are similar in format to telethons, but instead, use brief breaks between regular programs to appeal for funds.
For a brief time in the early 1970s, beginning in 1972, the
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),
Garden City High School in Garden City, Kansas, holds annual telethons to help fund the school's broadcasting, debate and forensics teams.[17]
On December 14, 2012, Univision introduced the first ever Spanish-language telethon in the United States, Teletón USA, which is hosted by longtime Sábado Gigante host Mario Kreutzberger, known by his stage name Don Francisco. The total donation in the first edition was $8,150,625, 16.44% more than the intended goal of $7,000,000.[18] For its 2013 edition, the goal went up to $15,215,029 and the total donation is now $15,313,525, a $98,496 increase.[19]
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 Hospitals in early June. In addition, due to the proliferation of cable television piping in signals from the United States, a number of American telethons, such as the Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon, attracted donations from Canada due to being broadcast there.
Notable regional telethons (outside of those produced by Children's Miracle Network) 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 $7.1 million in the 2018 edition, held in Regina.
- 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-DT in Vancouver.
- CTV-Lion's Club Children's Christmas Telethon (December), buys Christmas presents for underprivileged children in Northern Ontario. The telethon is broadcast on CTV Northern Ontario stations and features local musical talent.
Chile
Since 1978, the major Chilean television networks hold an annual telethon called Teletón to raise funds to help children with developmental disabilities (most commonly
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
During March 2010, a special telethon called Chile ayuda a Chile (
Honduras
Since 1987, all television networks in
Mexico
Like Chile and Honduras in December of every year since 1997 the Mexican television network
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 SBT was conceived by Décio Goldfarb, Clovis Scripilliti and Hebe Camargo who asked the owner of SBT, Silvio Santos, to broadcast the program. The collections are passed on to "Associação de Assistência à Criança Deficiente" (AACD) – Portuguese for Association for Assistance to Disabled Children.
The first edition was held between 17 and 18 May 1998, and since then, 14 rehabilitation centers, a home school and a hospital for rehabilitation operations and exams are created. Another rehabilitation center was in construction but the same was canceled due to the financial crisis Brazil had been suffering since 2015, also two rehabilitation centers have closed and another three were municipalized, making the total of centers down to nine.
The edition of 2019 was held on 25 and 26 October. It had a goal of R$30 million, and raised R$32 450 054 (US$8,106,231) after almost 26 hours of broadcast, making a new record total. In 2018, AACD helped over 8,000 people with physical disabilities.
Haiti
"
Europe
Austria
Licht ins Dunkel (literally: "light in the dark") is an annual telethon held in Austria to help disabled persons.
Spain
In Catalonia, public television broadcaster Televisió de Catalunya broadcasts an annual telethon (La Marató de TV3)(in Catalan) for several diseases. In 2018, it raised €15,068,252 for cancer research. €197,340,632 have been collected since the first edition in 1992.
France
In France, since 1987, an annual
Ireland
In Ireland, the RTÉ
Italy
In Italy, since 1990, Telethon is also held by RAI in December, and in 2006 (when the event was held from December 15–17) 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.
The creators of the Italian version are Susanna Agnelli and the Italian Union for the fight against muscular dystrophy.[25]
Netherlands
The first nationwide telethon in the Netherlands was Open Het Dorp ("Open The Village"), which was classic in format, broadcasting for 23 hours on television and radio from 26 to 27 November 1962. Funds were raised to build and open a special village/community for disabled people.
In 1984 for the first time a number of Dutch humanitarian aid organisations collaborated with a combination of broadcasters, to raise funds through a unified effort: "Eén voor Afrika" (One for Africa).[26] With a combination of 10 hours of television and 18 hours of radio broadcast, €44 million was raised. After another such action in 1987, the organisations decided to sign a permanent cooperation agreement as the Samenwerkende Hulporganisaties (or SHO, meaning Cooperating Aid Organizations). Although the campaigns gradually moved away from classic telethons over the years, the SHO raised some €700 million in forty nationwide efforts since it started.[26][27]
Starting in 2004 an annual multi-day radiothon called
Serious Request spin-off projects have since been adopted in Belgium, Switzerland, Sweden, Kenya, South Korea, Austria, Latvia and Portugal.
Norway
Contributions are collected in a number of ways. Central to the campaign is the door-to-door campaign of approximately 100,000 volunteers servicing all 1.8 million Norwegian households,[31] as well as donations accepted via telephone or by funds transfer to the campaign's bank account. NRK also hosts a live auction of various items and experiences, with proceeds also going to that year's selected charity. Several organizations donate considerable amounts, as does the government of Norway on behalf of the Norwegian people.[32][33]
Ukraine
Since the start of the invasion in the
United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, the ITV Telethons were three charity telethons organised and televised in the UK by the ITV network. The broadcasts 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
From 2011 to 2015,
Since 2012,
Asia
Japan
You can help expand this section with text translated from the corresponding article in Japanese. (September 2009) Click [show] for important translation instructions.
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In Japan,
The 2011 telethon's funds were donated to organizations which will help rebuild the prefectures that were damaged in the
FNS Day (ja:FNSの日) (in Japanese) is an annual telethon hosted by Fuji Television which started in 1987 and airs during the final weekend of July.
Hong Kong
In Hong Kong,
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 (
Telethons have also been held for endangered children on Israeli channel 2, the broadcast is called "Yom Tov" (
Singapore
In Singapore, Ren Ci Charity Show is an annual telethon (known locally as "charity show") organised by Mediacorp. Other charity shows in Singapore include NKF Charity Show.
Oceania
Australia
Perth
The annual Channel Seven Perth Telethon is run by Perth-based Seven Network station TVW and the Channel 7 Telethon Trust and is broadcast throughout Western Australia on the Seven Network. Starting in 1968, the annual 26-hour continuous broadcast runs on a weekend, usually in October, commencing at 7.00pm on Saturday night. The two major beneficiaries of Telethon are Perth Children's Hospital (and previously Princess Margaret Hospital for Children) and the Telethon Kids Institute along with numerous other additional beneficiaries (in 2021, there were 65 beneficiaries).[37]
In 2017, TVW held its 50th Telethon, raising a then-record
A number of international celebrities have visited Perth to appear on the Telethon, such as
During the 1970s and 80s, TVW's rival station, the Nine Network's STW also broadcast its own telethon, known as Appealathon.
Melbourne
HSV7 in Melbourne holds the
Adelaide
NWS9 in Adelaide aired 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 television stars from all channels would visit channel 9 across the live broadcast weekend to participate in the Telethon. Musicians from interstate would also travel to Adelaide for the round-the-clock marathon broadcast. It was the only time of the year that an Adelaide television station continued to broadcast during the overnight hours.
In the 1970s, SAS10 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 participating in the broadcast included actors from the popular SAS10 programmes Number 96 and The Box. Game show host Garry Meadows was the anchor for most years. It is this event where the tune "Thank You Very Much for Your Kind Donation" originated, which would 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
Sydney
In Sydney,
The sixth telethon in 2015 was hosted by presenters of the Nine Network's Today show, with various network celebrities including Darryl Brohman and Miranda Tapsell manning the phone lines; the telethon also featured various music performers. A total of $5.2mn was raised for the hospital, breaking expectations and creating a new record.[41]
One-off telethons
Throughout Australia, there have been several national telethons during the 2000s. One was held 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 all three commercial networks, Seven, Nine and Ten. There were other telethons around the world raising money for that event.
On February 12, 2009, the Nine Network held a special telethon to benefit the victims of the
On January 9, 2011, the Flood Relief Appeal: Australia Unites telethon, in response to the
New Zealand
Telethons were run nationwide in New Zealand in 1975 to 1979, 1981, 1983, 1985, 1988, 1990 and 1991 by
TV2, which launched on Monday 30 June 1975, held the first 24-hour telethon on its opening weekend (5-6 July 1975), which raised over $585,000 for St. John Ambulance. It 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 centres. In 1979, telethon was hosted by TV2 (then named South Pacific Television) but was simulcast on TV One between midnight and 11:00am while TV One was off air for the benefit of those who couldn't yet receive TV2.[47] Telethon was broadcast on TV One in 1981, 1983 and 1985, and on TV2 in 1988 and 1990.
After the first telethon, the rest were hosted in large exhibition halls and indoor stadiums as the public soon arrived by the thousands to be seen on television and to watch the entertainment live. Notable international guests from TV shows and movies, in alphabetical order, have included:
- 1981: Basil Brush, Kamahl, Kenny Everett and Bill Oddie[48]
- 1985: James B. Sikking, Bruce Weitz and Ernie Wise
- 1988: Letitia Dean, Alix Elias, Pat Evison, Max Gail, Estelle Getty, Leeza Gibbons, Kim Lewis, Antonia Murphy, Su Pollard, Christopher Quinten, Ian Rawlings, Mike Smith, Susan Tully, Blair Underwood and Helen Worth[49]
- 1990: Alan Dale, John Farnham, Anne Haddy, Jon Iles, Kevin Kennedy, Barbara Knox, Ari Meyers, Bryan Mosley, Thaao Penghlis, Barbara Thorn and Ernie Wise
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 international LiveAid concert 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 fundraising 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 Government of New Zealand matching the dollar amount, bringing the total to just over $3 million.
In 1993, TV3 hosted a 22-hour telethon to raise funds for the
TV3 broadcast a 23-hour telethon "The Big Night In" to support KidsCan, which aired on August 8 and 9, 2009. The event raised $1,944,225.
In collaboration with the New Zealand Government, Three, Māori Television, TVNZ 2 and various online platforms simulcast an eight-hour telethon on 16 October 2021, known as the 'Vaxathon', to support the country's COVID-19 vaccination effort.[50]
Some regional stations have also operated their own local telethons to fund local facilities and other organizations.
Worldwide
For nine 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, the event raised a record-breaking $15.3 million. The program aired from the Hollywood studios of Los Angeles television station KCET and was broadcast in the United States, as well as internationally.
The
In 2014, TWiT.tv held an online telethon entitled "24 Hours of 2015" celebrating New Year in every time zone to raise money for UNICEF. Founder and host Leo Laporte streamed live for much of the 24 hours, raising over $58,000.[51]
Other types
Similar to telethons, but considerably shorter, are nationally televised
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