Clear Channel to Donate $120 Million to Ad Council

Clear Channel Communications will donate $120 million in advertising time and space for the Advertising Council’s public service advertising campaigns in the upcoming year. The ad council says it’s the largest upfront commitment from a media company in the organization’s 60-year history. Clear Channel contributed $60 million towards the PSAs this year.
The partnership will use all of Clear Channel media properties, including radio, television, outdoor, Internet and special events to support Ad Council PSAs. In addition to their media properties, Clear Channel has also committed to donate its talent to create original PSAs for Ad Council campaigns.
“This is the most significant cross-platform partnership in our history and with collaborations such as these we can continue to move the needle on many critical issues facing our country,” said Ad Council President/CEO Peggy Conlon.
In 1984, the FCC dropped PSAs as a requirement for license renewal. As a result, the amount of advertising time and space that is contributed to PSAs is up to the discretion of individual media companies.
“This commitment is an important demonstration of the social obligation that media companies such as Clear Channel choose to embrace to further their relationship with their audiences and serve their community,” said Conlon.
Across all media, the Ad Council has received more than $1 billion in donated advertising time and space annually for the last five years.