Producers of the "Christmas in Washington" TV special have cancelled the annual event which had aired the past 33 years. The reason for the cancellation is the lack of a broadcast sponsor.
The U.S. president, his wife and children traditionally attended the event that first started to air in 1982. TNT, the show's producer, failed to find a new network sponsor, according to Steven Co., owned by veteran producer George Stevens Jr. and son Michael, reports The Washington Post
The two, who were removed as producers of the gala show, tried but failed to find a new sponsor.
Past "Christmas in Washington" specials featured performers such as Earth, Wind & Fire, Mariah Carey, Justin Bieber, Gloria Stefan and Tim McGraw singing Christmas carols on stage. The first family and other prominent political figures sang with the performers while watching the show. The last number had the president and his family going up the stage and singing and hugging.
Stevens created the special which benefitted the Children's National Health System. Michael became its producer in 1993 and its director from 2004 until 2014. On Oct. 15, Michael died from stomach cancer complications.
The 2014 Christmas special had Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as host. Performers included Rita Ora and Christina Perri. The Obama girls, Malia and Sasha, were behaved in the White House December festivities which contrasted with their bored looks and rolled eyes during Thanksgiving 2014 turkey pardoning rites which generated media criticism of the first daughters.