Shouting To Be Heard (2): Public Service Advertising in a Changing Television World

This research on United States (US) public service announcements (PSAs) analyses time donated by broadcast and cable stations, describing PSAs as "a critical lifeline to key constituencies" for non-profits and government agencies. PSAs are used to televise "messages [as] a central component of public education campaigns designed to raise money, generate awareness, change attitudes, and modify behaviors on a variety of pressing social issues including alcohol and drug abuse, cigarette smoking, hunger, literacy, drunk driving, AIDS, and mentoring." The study compares the PSA landscape of 2005 to that of 2000.


Donated time:
Time for donated PSAs by television broadcast and cable networks went up by just two seconds an hour since 2000 to an average of 17 seconds an hour – totalling one-half of one percent of all TV airtime. The study found a slight increase in the amount of time given to "non-programming" content, primarily commercial advertising (27% of every hour). The increase was most apparent in broadcast networks rather than cable stations. This means that a viewer would have to watch 200 hours of television to see one hour of PSAs, and in doing so would encounter 50 hours of advertising.


When PSAs are aired:
The most frequent time period for PSAs to air was between midnight and 6 A.M. This time period accounted for nearly half (46%) of donated PSA time across all stations in the study. The time period with the fewest (13%) donated PSAs was during prime time (8-11 P.M.). According to the study, looking only at broadcast stations, the majority (60%) of donated PSAs ran overnight.


English/Spanish/Cable comparison:
When examined by categories of four English-language broadcast stations, one Spanish-language network, and five cable stations, the Spanish network was the largest donor at 29 seconds per hour, with 18 seconds/hour for English broadcast and 15 seconds for cable.


Issues covered in PSAs:
The most common issue among donated PSAs was health (26% of all donated PSAs), followed by fund-raising (23%), family and social concerns (12%), community organisations or events (8%), voluntarism (6%), and environmental issues (4%). Health issues included fitness, cancer, HIV/AIDS, and wellness.


Paid PSAs:
Because, as stated in the study, one out of every three (39%) public interest messages on TV is actually using purchased, rather than donated, airtime, it recognises the advantage of agencies with funds to buy PSA time. Paid PSAs are more evenly distributed throughout the day.


Viewer referral:
Most PSAs included some type of provision for viewers to follow up on information through: a Web address (75%) or a toll-free telephone number (38%). The proportion featuring a Web address increased (from 32 % in 2000 to 75%t in 2005), while the proportion with a toll-free telephone number decreased (49% to 38% over the same period).


The study concluded that non-profit organisations seeking to use media as part of a public education effort "need to be creative in finding ways to secure airtime in front of their target audience. Obviously, continuing to look to less expensive new media options is key (if the campaign’s target audience uses new media). Seeking arrangements with specific networks and stations that have especially strong viewership among a target audience - for example, a network that focuses on teens, or children, or Spanish-speaking viewers - is also an option." The study found that advertising practises are changing, requiring that PSA campaigns continue to experiment, particularly with new media; form partnerships with corporate sponsors who can pay for time; and use brief television time to push viewers online for more information.