TV Chile To Air Marathon As Part Of Fund-Raising Effort For Nation's Earthquake Victim
Olympusat-Distributed Service Begins 24-Hour Programming Push March 5
MCN Staff -- , 3/4/2010 3:37:35 PM
TV Chile will present a 24-hour telethon March 5, beginning at 8 p.m. (ET) in an effort to raise funds to assist the victims of the earthquake in that nation.
The channel is participating in "Chile Helps Chile," a cooperative effort with other networks in South America, to solicit donations for country, which was ravaged by an 8.8 magnitude earthquake on Feb. 27.
TV Chile, a family-oriented general-entertainment service that is distributed by Olympusat, will telecast the marathon event entirely commercial-free, featuring live performances from world-renowned entertainers, including appearances by Don Francisco, Ricardo Montaner and reggaeton star Tito Bambino.
The goal of the fundraising effort: to raise $27 million, which will be used to build 30,000 emergency homes and buy relief supplies.
TV Chile is available on Spanish-language tiers in select Cablevision, Charter, Comcast, Cox, Suddenlink, Time Warner Cable and Verizon FiOS markets.
"We are honored, on behalf of TV Chile, to be able to provide an international platform to reach a millions of potential donors in the U.S.," said Ivette Mendez-Kelly, vice president of sales and distribution for Olympusat's Hispanic networks in a statement. "Our hearts go out to our brothers and sisters in Chile who have been impacted by this unprecedented natural disaster."
Collaborators on the event include: El Hogar de Cristo (Christ's Home); Un Techo para Chile (A Home for Chile); and the Fundación para la Superación de la Pobreza (Foundation to Overcome Poverty), with its program Servicio PaÃs (Country Service). The Bank of Chile will be in charge of collecting the funds.