Original Description:
About Us
CBS Corporation and Viacom Inc., two of the largest media companies in the world, and the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, a leader in health information and research, have created an unprecedented media campaign to eradicate ignorance about HIV/AIDS. Taking advantage of the Kaiser Family Foundation's expertise, and the breadth and depth of CBS Corporation and Viacom Inc.'s creative and distribution assets, the multi-year initiative encompasses the creation and dissemination of information about the HIV virus and its prevention through television, radio, outdoor, online and print media. The mission: To use the power of media to educate and compel people to act - to protect themselves and to get tested for the virus - and to erase the stigma for those afflicted.
Launched on January 6, 2003, the KNOW HIV/AIDS initiative runs public service messages across the full range of Viacom's TV, radio, and outdoor properties. The initiative also encompasses AIDS-related themes woven into CBS Corporation and Viacom Inc.-produced entertainment series, a free educational guide and other resources. In the United States, the campaign is aimed at the public-at-large as well as those groups that are most at-risk for the disease, including youth, people of color, women, and men who have sex with men.
Internationally, the campaign targets areas of the world where CBS Corporation and Viacom Inc. has a concentration of assets, especially Europe and the United States, and partners with other companies to focus on regions most affected by the disease. Outside of the United States, KNOW HIV/AIDS is branded Staying Alive, capitalizing on the longstanding MTV International campaign of the same name; and the international effort, like the U.S. campaign, is aimed at the public-at-large and those most at risk for the disease.
Through a joint effort of KNOW HIV/AIDS and the BBC World Service Trust, messages in seven languages are broadcast to 60 million people in Africa and the Caribbean. In Russia, the campaign has teamed up with Gazprom-Media, Russia's largest private media holding, to help implement a cross-platform initiative on HIV/AIDS. KNOW HIV/AIDS is also working in China with MTV and China Central Television (CCTV) on a branded AIDS awareness campaign in the world's largest country.
Every division of CBS Corporation and Viacom Inc. is involved in the KNOW HIV/AIDS campaign, building upon current activities within the company, including MTV's Fight for your Rights: Protect Yourself/Be Safe campaign, which launched in 1997, and MTV International's Staying Alive and BET's Rap it Up, both of which commenced in 1998, VH1's media partnership with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, which launched in 2004, and elements of Nickelodeon's Talking with Kids About Tough Issues campaign, which began in 2001. In addition, CBS, UPN, Nick at Nite, TV Land, Comedy Central, CMT: Country Music Television, Spike TV, and Infinity have aired PSAs and programs on HIV/AIDS and sexual health, and Showtime, Paramount, the N, and VH1 have produced original programming and movies on the topic.
CBS Corporation and Viacom Inc. are members of The Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS.