March 7, 2002 | Read Time: 2 minutes
Broadcast and cable networks donate 15 seconds an hour, on average, to showing
free public-service advertisements, according to a new study sponsored by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, in Menlo Park, Calif. The donated time adds up to less than one half of 1 percent of all television programming.
The study examined ads produced by charities, government agencies, for-profit organizations, or television stations that promote an issue perceived to benefit society, such as wearing a seatbelt or avoiding drugs.
The study, which was conducted by researchers at Indiana University, in Bloomington, analyzed a week of programming in seven cities on affiliates of ABC, CBS, CNN, ESPN, Fox, MTV, NBC, Nickelodeon, TNT, and Univision.
Among key findings:
- About a third of all public-service announcements are paid for by the sponsors of the advertisements. More than one-fourth of those paid-for public-service ads were sold at reduced rates.
- Nine percent of public-service announcements for which stations donate time appear during prime time, 8-11 p.m., while 43 percent air between midnight and 6 a.m.
- Issues that affect young people, including child rearing, health care, education, and getting adult guidance from a mentor, are the most popular topics of donated public-service announcements on television, followed by health issues such as prevention of drug and alcohol abuse.
Nonprofit organizations that can’t afford to buy airtime need to think “long and hard” about whether it makes sense to produce and try to place public-service announcements on television, said Vicky Rideout, a vice president at the foundation, in an interview. “The reality we uncovered is that there is a small amount of airtime available, mostly in the middle of the night,” she said. “It’s a small piece of the pie that everyone is fighting over.” However, the fight might be worth it, she added, because “television is the most powerful medium out there” to reach a large audience.
In addition to the study about airtime, Kaiser also conducted a survey of public-service directors at affiliates of ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, UPN, and WB to determine what factors influenced the placement of public-service announcements. Of the 513 people interviewed, 75 percent said sponsorship by a group in the geographic area where the station broadcasts carried the most weight.
Free copies of “A Report on Television Content” and “National Survey of Public Service Directors,” as well as the executive summary of both studies’ findings, are available on the foundation’s Web site, http://www.kff.org, or by calling the foundation’s publication request line, (800) 656-4533.
