| "Get Tested" Wins Emmy
New York, NY - November 12, 2008 - A star-studded public information campaign that promoted HIV testing in the United States has won the 2008 National Public Service Announcements (PSA) Emmy Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
Created by the Kaiser Family Foundation, HBO, the National Basketball Association and the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria, the "Get Tested" PSA leveraged media savvy and star-power to break down barriers to HIV testing and to inspire and encourage viewers to get tested.
HIV/AIDS remains a critical challenge in the United States and abroad. In August, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that the HIV epidemic in the United States is-and has been-worse than previously thought. According to CDC, as many as 55,000 Americans are newly infected with HIV every year, and 1 in 4 Americans living with HIV/AIDS today doesn't know it. African-Americans are especially impacted, representing nearly half of all new infections, while representing just 12% of the U.S. population.
Globally, the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) estimates that 8 in 10 people living with HIV in low or middle income countries do not know they are infected with the virus. Both the CDC and UNAIDS have encouraged more routine HIV testing.
The PSA featured Queen Latifah, Jamie Foxx and stars from the NBA including Lamar Odom and Luke Walton of the Los Angeles Lakers; Samuel Dalembert of the Philadelphia 76ers; Kyle Korver of the Utah Jazz; Richard Jefferson of the Milwaukee Bucks and Marcus Williams of the Golden State Warriors. Hip-Hop legend Doug E. Fresh produced the original music for the PSAs.
"We're so proud to join the Coalition, Kaiser Family Foundation, and NBA Cares to produce this extraordinary PSA," said HBO Co-President Richard Plepler. "That it was awarded an Emmy is a particular thrill. The credit goes to Chris Spencer, Elaine Brown and their team whose talent made it all possible."
"Knowing your HIV status is an essential part of prevention and treatment," said Tina Hoff, Vice President and Director of Entertainment Media Partnerships at the Kaiser Family Foundation. "Testing provides an opportunity to receive counseling about risks, and early knowledge of HIV status helps link people to care."
"This award is a reflection of our teams' and players' commitment to improving communities here and abroad. The NBA is honored to share this recognition with organizations such as the GBC, Kaiser Family Foundation and HBO, which are determined to bring the all-important issue of HIV testing to the forefront," said NBA Senior Vice President, Community and Player Programs Kathy Behrens.
"HIV testing is fundamental to defeating HIV/AIDS," said John Tedstrom, Executive Director of the Global Business Coalition, which played an instrumental role in organizing the PSA campaign. "The award demonstrates the value of cross-sector partnerships, an area in which our Coalition focuses heavily. Together, we can effectively convey awareness about the dangers of HIV and drive real behavior change on an unprecedented scale."
The campaign grew out of an initial commitment made by HBO and Kaiser Family Foundation at the Clinton Global Initiative in 2006. The PSAs aimed to raise awareness about the importance of HIV testing and directed U.S. viewers to www.testing411.org, a comprehensive online resource developed especially for the campaign that included basic information about HIV and testing options. The site also included easy access to information about local HIV testing centers by zip code provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The PSAs aired over 480 times on U.S. cable television networks - including MTV and BET - and drove thousands of referrals to the CDC's HIV testing center locator. Internationally, the Global Media AIDS Initiative (GMAI) distributed the PSAs to more than 100 broadcast members in more than 60 countries across Africa and the Caribbean. In those regions, the spots referred viewers to local HIV resources.
Earlier this year Testing411 also was awarded outstanding PSA from Cable Positive, the cable and telecommunications industry's HIV/AIDS action organization.
HBO
Home Box Office, Inc. is the premium television programming subsidiary of Time Warner Inc., providing two 24-hour pay television services - HBO and Cinemax - to over 40 million U.S. subscribers. The services offer the most popular subscription video on demand products, HBO On Demand and Cinemax On Demand, as well as HBO on Broadband, HD feeds, and multiplex channels. Internationally, HBO's branded television networks, along with the subscription video on demand products HBO On Demand and HBO Mobile, bring HBO services to over 50 countries. HBO programming is sold into over 150 countries worldwide.
Kaiser Family Foundation
The Kaiser Family Foundation is a non-profit private operating foundation, based in Menlo Park, California, dedicated to producing and communicating the best possible information, research and analysis on health issues. For more information: www.kff.org.
Launched in 2004 by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in coordination with the Kaiser Family Foundation and UNAIDS, the Global Media AIDS Initiative (GMAI) mobilizes leading media companies around the world to leverage their vast resources to address AIDS. Through large-scale national and regional coalitions of media -- a network that includes some 200 media companies -- the GMAI leverages the communication power of mass media to get out information about HIV and challenge stigma related to the disease. For more information: www.thegmai.org.
NBA Cares
NBA Cares is the league's social responsibility initiative that builds on the NBA's long tradition of addressing important social issues in the United States and around the world. Through this umbrella program, the NBA, its teams and players have donated more than $90 million to charity, provided more than 750,000 hours of hands-on service to communities around the world, and created more than 340 places where kids and families can live, learn or play. NBA Cares works with internationally recognized youth-serving programs that support education, youth and family development, and health-related causes, including: KaBOOM!, Special Olympics, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, UNICEF, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis.
Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria
The Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is a coalition of more than 220 companies united to keep the fight against these epidemics a global priority. The Coalition provides tailored support so that companies can take an active role in defeating the pandemics. The Coalition also organizes collective actions among companies and links the public and private sectors in ways that pool talents and resources. The official focal point of the private sector delegation to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the Coalition maintains offices in New York, Paris, Johannesburg, Beijing, Nairobi and Moscow.
For more information visit: http://www.gbcimpact.org.
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CONTACTS
Rakesh Singh, Kaiser Family Foundation,
rakeshs@kff.org
(650) 854-9400
Suzanne Pinto, HBO,
Suzanne.pinto@hbo.com
(212) 512-1904
David Stearns, GBC,
dstearns@businessfightsaids.org,
(212) 584-1633
Jonathan Hammond, NBA,
jhammond@nba.com
(212) 407-8671
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