New York, New York (November 21, 2024) – TelevisaUnivision has been named the recipient of the 2024 Catalyst Award for their exceptional support of the Ad Council’s social impact campaigns throughout the past year, particularly their contribution to Project Roadblock, an annual Ad Council, TVB and NHTSA partnership designed to reduce alcohol-impaired driving deaths during the holiday season.
The Catalyst Award, presented annually by the Ad Council, recognizes communications companies that have made a significant social impact through their media initiatives. In 2023, TelevisaUnivision’s support of Project Roadblock, the annual local broadcast TV campaign aimed at reducing drunk driving fatalities over the holiday season, ranked #1 based on media value, showing a 32% increase in year-over-year support. The company was also ranked among the top three supporters based on Project Roadblock campaign detections.
Overall, 2023’s Project Roadblock achieved 60,400 detections of donated local broadcast airtime valued at an estimated $3.8 million. The campaign ran on more than 1,000 TV stations and reached 99.99% of all U.S. TV households.
The Catalyst Award was presented during The Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB)’s live Executive Summit, part of its annual Forward Conference, which brings together the senior leadership of local television, including broadcasters, agencies and advertisers.
“TelevisaUnivision's commitment to social responsibility, demonstrated through their ongoing and exceptional support of the Ad Council, particularly through their participation in Project Roadblock, has helped save lives and raised awareness about the dangers of alcohol-impaired driving,” said DJ Perera, Chief Media Officer at the Ad Council. “Their incredible reach and continued support make them highly deserving of this year's Catalyst Award.”
“TelevisaUnivision has shown an unwavering commitment to leveraging local broadcast TV’s unique reach to support life-saving initiatives,” said Steve Lanzano, CEO and president, TVB. “Their leadership in Project Roadblock exemplifies the powerful impact local TV broadcasters can make, and we are proud to recognize their continued dedication to community safety and social responsibility with this year’s Catalyst Award.”
“We are honored to receive this prestigious recognition from the Ad Council and TVB,” said Antonio Roman, Executive Vice President of Local Media at TelevisaUnivision. “As the leading Spanish-language media company in the U.S., we are committed to using our platforms to drive change and make a positive impact across our communities.”
Since 2004, the Ad Council has worked in partnership with TVB and local broadcast TV stations, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to execute the annual Project Roadblock PSA campaign and raise awareness of the dangers of impaired driving during the holiday season. The initiative, now in its 21st year, continues to be one of the Ad Council’s most successful campaigns and demonstrates the power of local broadcast TV to promote road safety.
For more information about Project Roadblock, visit tvb.org/projectroadblock and follow the campaign online using the hashtag #ProjectRoadblock.
About the Ad Council
The Ad Council convenes creative storytellers to educate, unite and uplift audiences by opening hearts, inspiring action and accelerating change. For more than 80 years, the nonprofit organization and its partners in advertising, media, marketing and tech have been behind some of the country's most iconic social impact campaigns – Smokey Bear, A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Waste, Love Has No Labels, Tear the Paper Ceiling and many more. With a current focus on mental health, gun violence prevention, combating hate and bias, the overdose crisis and other critical issues, the Ad Council's national campaigns encompass advertising and media content, ground game and community efforts, trusted messenger and influencer engagement, employer programs and other innovative strategies.
To learn more or get involved, visit AdCouncil.org, join the Ad Council's communities on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X, and view campaign creative on YouTube.
About TelevisaUnivsion
TelevisaUnivision is the world’s leading Spanish-language media company. Powered by the largest library of owned Spanish-language content and a prolific production capability, TelevisaUnivision is the top producer of original content in Spanish across news, sports and entertainment verticals. This original content powers all of TelevisaUnivision’s platforms, which include market-leading broadcast networks Univision, Las Estrellas, Canal 5 and UniMás, and a portfolio of 38 cable networks, which include TUDN, Galavisión, Distrito Comedia and TL Novelas. The company also operates the leading Mexican movie studio, Videocine, and owns and operates the largest Spanish-language audio platform in the U.S. across 35 terrestrial stations and the Uforia digital platform. TelevisaUnivision is also the owner of ViX, the largest Spanish-language streaming platform in the world. For more information, please visit televisaunivision.com.
About TVB
TVB is the not-for-profit trade association representing America’s local broadcast television industry, including linear and digital platforms. Its members include the U.S. television stations, television broadcast groups, advertising sales reps, syndicators, international broadcasters and associate members. TVB actively promotes local media marketing solutions to the advertising community and works to develop advertising dollars for the medium’s multiple platforms, including on-air, online and mobile. TVB provides a diverse variety of tools and resources, including its website, to support its members and to help advertisers make the best use of local ad dollars.
Media Contact
Walter Deleon
The Ad Council
Wdeleon@adcouncil.org