Free Placement for TV PSAs

Please visit PETAPSA.com and click on “Television” at the top of the page. There, you can view the PETA public service announcements (PSA) and determine which one you would like to place. Once you determine which PSA you want to pitch as well as the TV station(s) in your area, contact Action Team Coordinators via e-mail at ATeam@peta.org. We'll get you the contact information for PSA people at the appropriate stations.

It's best to send the contact an e-mail pitch first. Here is a sample of a pitch that you can use as a guide. Notice how we ask for free placement and give reasons why the PSA is beneficial to animals and to the community. You can use this pitch for your e-mails, but make sure you update the pitch to apply to the particular PSA you are working with. You can find a lot of helpful information at PETA.org.

If you are e-mailing multiple people at once, put the contacts' e-mail addresses in the bcc field of your e-mail and put your e-mail address in the To field.

Once you've e-mailed your pitch, follow up with a phone call a few hours later. Ask if the person received your e-mail and if the publication would like a copy of the PSA. If the person wants a copy, ask what format is preferable. The most common is BETA or BETA SP. We can't provide DVC Pro, so if that format is requested, ask if the station can handle MiniDV or BETA SP instead.

Contact Action Team Coordinators with the name of the TV station, the PSA you pitched, and the format you need. We'll make a copy of the PSA and either send you the PSA or send it to the TV station for you—as soon as possible and in the required format.

Unfortunately, TV stations receive many PSAs from various nonprofit organizations on the local and national level. They can pick and choose what they will play. If you can get the PSA into the station's “rotation,” that's great!

Please contact us if you have any questions: Send an e-mail to ATeam@peta.org, or call PETA's Action Team Coordinators at 757-622-PETA.

Paid TV PSA Placement

Please visit PETAPSA.com and click on “Television” at the top of the page. There, you can view the PETA public service announcements (PSA) and determine which of them you would like to place.

Many people don’t realize that paying for a TV spot can be both affordable and effective. When you pay for a TV PSA, you have control over when it runs. Unlike free TV PSAs, which run whenever the station has room for them, paid PSAs run exactly when you want them to. Imagine seeing a PETA PSA during your favorite show!

The cost of a TV spot varies according to the time slot, date, and broadcast area. Rates are also affected by how far in advance you purchase the slot. You can often get discounts for booking PSAs a month or two in advance or for purchasing multiple spots at once. Some stations also offer nonprofit organizations a discount.

Once you decide which PSA you want to run, the TV station(s) that you’re interested in, and how much you’re willing to spend, please contact Action Team Coordinators at ATeam@peta.org. We’ll get you the contact information for the stations that you’re interested in and recommend some TV shows for you to request. For example, a pro-vegetarian PSA is a great choice to run during a cooking show, and an anti-vivisection PSA would be very effective during a medical drama.

Before contacting the advertising sales representative, have the following information handy:

  • Which PSA you want to run and its link.
  • The TV station(s) that you’re interested in. (Some sales representatives work for multiple stations.)
  • The show(s) that you’re considering. You can always ask the sales representative for his or her suggestions.
  • The date on which you want the ad to start running. When you are just inquiring about rates, it’s fine to give the representative a rough idea (e.g., mid-August, late April). Later on, you’ll need to know exactly which date(s) you want the PSA to run.

After you receive contact information from Action Team Coordinators, e-mail the advertising sales representative and express your interest in paying for a TV spot. Be sure to mention the station(s) that you are interested in, the time slots during which you would like the ad to run, the start date for the ad, a link to the PSA, and your phone number. Stations have the right to reject any ads they want to. If you don’t hear back from someone with a few hours, follow up with a phone call. Here’s an example of an e-mail that we would send to a TV station:

Hi Rebecca,

I’m considering placing an ad on KENS during The Late Show With David Letterman starting mid-March. Here’s what the ad would look like: http://www.petatv.com/tvpopup/Prefs.asp?video=forest. I’d like to know the rate to run the ad once. If you need any more information, please don’t hesitate to call me at 555-555-5555. Thanks!

Best regards,

Chantel

Once the PSA has been approved and you have been given the rates, decide which time slots you’re interested in. When you’re ready to seal the deal, find out the format in which the TV station needs the PSA and the date that it’s needed. The most common formats that TV stations request are BETA and BETA SP. We can’t provide DVC Pro; if the representative requests this format, ask if the station can use the MiniDV or BETA SP formats instead.

Then you should give Action Team Coordinators the name of the TV station, the PSA that you’re running, the dates when the ad is running, the format in which the station needs the ad, and the station’s deadline. We’ll make a copy of the PSA in the correct format and send it either to you or directly to the TV station.

If you have any questions, please contact us at ATeam@peta.org or 757-622-PETA.