 On October 6, 2010, the MDA announced that the telethon would be trimmed back considerably, to six hours, beginning with the 2011 edition televised on September 4, 2011.This new version of the telethon, broadcast from 6 p.m. to 12 midnight local time on the Sunday preceding Labor Day only, was in response to lagging donations, stations showing only part of the telethon or dropping it altogether, and the less-than-stellar talent in recent telethons – as well as Lewis, whose 64-year career as a film star and stage performer was dwindling, was now in his mid-80s and devoting less and less time appearing on-air due to his age and health.The telethon, seen live in the Eastern Time Zone and tape-delayed in the rest of the country, was revamped in order to attract more stations to the Love Network (which had shrunk from its peak of 213 stations in 1976 to 190 in 2010), as well as to attract more top celebrities and talent to the show, resulting in more viewers and donations.