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.