Local TV no longer has the resources to pump out this stuff for hours on end and it’s no longer viable to fly in talent from interstate just because it’s always been done this way. As good as the cause might be, being a good corporate citizen isn’t free.
In addition, you’re producing hours of television on end for a diminishing market. Better to focus resources into a shorter format that, in prime time, people might watch rather than wasting money producing TV through the wee small hours for no return.
Wouldn’t stun me if the Melbourne telethon cut back in the near future too, maybe it already has. They’re a nice idea but a dated concept.
Maybe do it on a Friday and link their shows together. Start the telethon with crosses through Today, continue through Today Extra, then during the day just have visuals/ticker on screen with their usual programming . It could be mentioned again during NNN and the afternoon news and ACA, then do 730-midnight.
Time for me to make a temporary return to the forums so I can respond to some recent posts in this thread.
At least Nine’s Queensland telethon is in primetime. Here in Sydney/NSW, Nine only airs the Gold Telethon between 9am and 4pm (on the Queen’s Birthday public holiday in June, but still) with a break for the Morning News! Due to such scheduling, you probably won’t be overly surprised to hear that TCN’s telethon raised less than half what QTQ’s did this year.
Sure, it’d be great if all telethons were the traditional 24 hours+ affair. But as @OnAir rightly pointed out, local stations no longer have the resources (or even appropriately sized/facilitated studios, in most cases) to do this sort of thing for hours on end. We’re probably now at the point that we’re lucky to see local telethons at all, especially when we haven’t yet seen a network do a national telethon for the current/recent bushfires in NSW and Queensland.
With Seven Melbourne’s Good Friday Appeal having been reduced in duration over the last few years, the only Telethon still produced in the traditional “all day and night for 24 hours+” format is Seven Perth’s. Even then, I wouldn’t be totally shocked if the running time/duration of that one is reduced in future years.
I recall as a child the Qld Children’s Hospital telethon used to also cross to the regional stations, which was quite exciting as a youngster in a regional area to think your town and local personalities were on the tele in Brissie.
They were the days. Times were simpler.
The last one for the Royal Children’s Hospital was in 1986. After Fairfax took over BTQ7 in 1987, most of their funding was cut short and the rest is history. The telethons would start at 7pm on a Friday night and go right through to Sunday I beleive. Presenters from around the country and channels 9 & 7 would all joing in. However, for most of it, it was as boring as bat shit and in the end, the cost to produce would have been more than they recived in donations. Plus in the hose days, most would plegde to get their name called on TV but never went into the said bank to actually place their donation.
Call centres were set up on the Gold and Sunshine Coasts such as Sea World, Magic Mountain and the Big Pineaple with local numbers appearing on screen. I can only ever recall SEQ8 joining in - not sure of any other regions?
TVQ0 and QTQ9 rarely did telethons - maybe one or 2 in the eighties. I think TVQ did one in 1989 and in 1984 and both were national.
3 - 4 hours is more than enough time in 2019 - less viewers and lots of $$$$$$ to produce.
They can’t be too worried about cutting overheads. I’ve now received 3 text messages from them in less than 24 hrs since donating last night. Not sure who pays for that.
I’m interested to see how the tally goes this year. They’ve only just cracked 1 million halfway through the 3 hour show, with an 11 million target. Some people donating only $1 according to the scroll ticker (which might be erroneous anyway was people are listed multiple times).
