Haiti benefit averages
24 million viewers
Airing on 33 networks, the telethon raises $61 million
By Louisa Ada Seltzer
Jan 26, 2010
"Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief" Friday night raised $61 million, up slightly over the $57 million organizers had estimated over the weekend.
It was the most widely broadcast telethon in television history, spanning 33 networks, and it drew an average audience of 21.11 million total viewers from 8 to 10 p.m., according to Nielsen estimates out yesterday.
Some 83.4 million viewers caught at least a minute of the telecast, which was carried by all five major broadcast networks.
The average audience was slightly more than the last major telethon, "Shelter From the Storm: A Concert for the Gulf Coast," which drew 22 million viewers for Hurricane Katrina relief in 2005, airing on 27 networks.
But the Haiti and Katrina telethon viewership was dwarfed by the Sept. 21, 2001, telethon following the 9/11 attacks, which averaged 59.4 million viewers on 30 networks.
The Haiti benefit was backed by George Clooney and Wyclef Jean, and dozens of celebrities lent their talents, doing everything from answering phones to singing to reading harrowing survival accounts.
The telethon also streamed live on the web, drawing 5.8 million viewers.
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