TV PSAs Break Records Despite the 2024 Election

The results are in. Nielsen has been providing overall TV PSA data exclusively to Connect 360 for over a decade and this year they showed that broadcast television stations donated more free ad time to nonprofits that at any time in the history of television. This was despite 2024’s highly contested presidential election.

Airings are growing and continue to grow year-over-year, regardless of elections, pandemics, or other pressures. Come with us as we explore the 2024 results and take a look at the long-term trends in PSA usage.

Election Impact Not as Disruptive as Some Feared

Although we had polled broadcasters, who told us that massive election spending wouldn’t hurt PSA airings in 2024, we were skeptical. With 20% higher election ad spending compared to 2020 (as calculated by Ad Impact), we feared that PSAs might be pushed aside by the demand for more paid ad space. Fortunately, that turned out not to be the case. The reality was that total PSA airings grew by 4.5% and even were even up by 4.2% during the key election months of September through November.

While the presidential election had little overall impact on station usage, it did spread the year’s airings more evenly across the months. June through August, which historically are the strongest months of the year for PSA airings, held steady. Even historically weaker months like February and October through November held their own. As a result, Nielsen found that total (non-Ad Council) airings topped 14.4 million, exceeding 14 million for the first time ever.

Continuing the positive trend, Nielsen tracked over 1,000 non-Ad Council TV PSAs a month in 2024, with the average release receiving 11,300 donated airings.

From this it is easy to see that the average TV PSA performed exceedingly well despite the 2024 election. Hopefully, this puts to bed any thought that television stations and networks are not interested in running PSAs.

In short, 2024 Nielsen found that stations and networks delivered the most non-Ad Council TV PSA airings in the history of television!

What We’ve Learned about Connect360’s Results

In 2024, Connect360 airing continued to grow twice as fast as what Nielsen saw for TV PSAs in general. In 2024, where Nielsen saw overall TV PSA airings grow by 4.5%, Connect360 campaign airings were up b 9%.

Over the last five years, airings for the campaigns we managed were up by 74% compared to a 33% for all TV PSAs in general that Nielsen tracked. This reflected an increase in the number of campaigns we managed plus growth in how individual campaigns performed. As a result, Connect360 airings represented 1 in every 5 non-Ad Council TV PSA airing Nielsen detected in 2024.

PSA airings do fluctuate over the course of the year. In 2024, the months with the fewest airings were September, October, and November-December. Although one might assume this is due to election spending, that may not be the case. For the past five years, the months between October and December tend to have the lowest average airings.

February is also sometimes a slow month for PSAs, but that was not the case in 2024. Exactly why these fluctuations happen is not clear, but they underscore why it is important to understand the long term patterns in station usage.

With overall strong results for PSA campaigns, let’s take a closer look at how PSAs distributed by Connect 360 performed.

How Connect360 Campaigns Performed

Looking at just TV PSA campaigns Connect360 managed last year, Nielsen reports 2.7 million airings. This was 9% more than in 2023, which was double the 4.5% rate of increase Nielsen saw for all non-Ad Council TV PSAs in general.

A typical Connect360 TV PSA continues to deliver more than $5 million in donated media value each year, with some campaigns running $20-30 million or even more. That provides nonprofits with over $150 return for every $1 spent to distribute, track, and monitor a campaign.

In 2024 , Connect360 TV PSAs received over $717 million in donated in-kind advertising time and generated more than 10 billion views for our clients’ PSAs.

Keep in mind that these numbers represent just TV airings. Many nonprofits and foundations supplement their campaigns with radio, print, digital, or out-of-home placement options that can broaden their reach even further.

Looking forward to 2025

TV PSAs remain an exceptionally effective way for nonprofits to build large national awareness for their organizations and missions. We expect the trend of increased airings to continue through 2025.

Despite stations losing audiences to streaming television, the use of PSAs is growing and the donated value stations provide remains strong. Even in highly contested times, like the 2020 and 2024 presidential elections, total TV PSA airings continued to grow and Connect360 airings grew even more. That is why we’ve consistently outperformed the industry year after year. There is no more cost effective way to reach large audiences than through the use of free, donated advertising time.

If you’re considering a TV PSA campaign for your nonprofit or foundation or just want to learn more about how PSAs might help build large awareness for your organization, please connect with the PSA campaign experts at Connect360. We’re here to help you plan, distribute, and manage your campaign for maximum results in 2025 and beyond.

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