ViacomCBS Releases 2020 Social Impact Review - “2020 in Focus”
Summary
Report Highlights
ViacomCBS announced today the release of its 2020 Social Impact Review – 2020 In Focus – providing a snapshot of the company’s social impact strategy last year. As a company passionate about entertaining and informing the world, their approach to social impact was rooted in making the most of the company’s core strengths and assets:
- Unleashing the power of ViacomCBS content
- Creating inspiring cultural moments
- Reaching diverse audiences across the globe
- Empowering employees
- Continuing to build on a legacy of social impact.
“2020 was a year of rising to the occasion: one in which ViacomCBS had to demonstrate who we are as a company and how we show up for our employees, audiences, communities and partners around the world,” said Bob Bakish, ViacomCBS President and CEO. “We faced one of the worst health crises in a generation and a racial reckoning that continues to reverberate across our society. In true ViacomCBS fashion, we responded quickly and strengthened our commitment to social impact by building on our legacy of driving change and using our power as a global content creator for good.”
The ViacomCBS 2020 Social Impact Review highlights the company’s commitment as one of the world’s largest content creators to making social impact a top priority across the entire organization. And while this work has been woven into the fabric of ViacomCBS for decades, the report shares how ViacomCBS harnessed this energy in 2020 to make a real difference in the following focus areas:
- Company Response to COVID-19
- Social & Racial Justice
- Mental Health
- Civic Engagement
- Giving Back
The report highlights the company’s commitment through actions such as:
- $100M committed in March 2020 to help support those impacted by COVID-19, including non-staff employees on ViacomCBS productions, as well as through third-party community partners.
- Launched #AloneTogether, a massive social and talent-led campaign that included over 174,000 TV spots and social media posts to educate audiences about the importance of social distancing and drive unity through entertainment despite the pandemic.
- Committed nearly $19M through the BET COVID Relief Fund in collaboration with United Way.
- In response to the watershed moments of racial injustice, ViacomCBS stood up for what’s right by deepening and expanding commitments to advance equality and combat social biases.
- On June 1, 2020, ViacomCBS channels went dark in honor of George Floyd and to pay tribute to other victims of racial violence.
- Pledged $250M+ by MTV Entertainment Group over the next 3 years to fuel the growth of content led and produced by BIPOC & women-owned & operated production companies.
- Collaborated with a coalition of media and entertainment companies, mental health experts and organizations to create a first-of-its-kind Mental Health Media Guide as a resource for content creators to use to help expand positive mental health portrayals.
- Spearheaded a coalition of over 2,700+ partners—including Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, Univision, BET, YMCA and United Way—to achieve record-breaking early voting turnout in 2020 and drive more than 3 million votes cast on Vote Early Day.
- Empowered employees and families in 20+ offices and regions globally to engage with 75+ community partners for the company’s first-ever fully virtual day of service.
- Nickelodeon created #KidsTogether as a spinoff of ViacomCBS' broader #AloneTogether campaign. Delivered in 14 languages for kids and families around the world featuring Nick stars and talent—like SpongeBob SquarePants, Bubble Guppies and The Casagrandes—it provided tips on staying healthy and suggested activities to do at home.
- Nickelodeon’s School Partnership Program builds on the objective to provide educators with complimentary access to resources that help make learning more accessible, fun and innovative. Nickelodeon prioritized fostering long-term relationships with 31 under-resourced schools, impacting 275,000 kids in 2020.
“This is what we do best at ViacomCBS. As we continue this work, we are committed to doing our part to cultivate meaningful and lasting change in our communities and helping eradicate hate worldwide. We know our work isn’t done, and that there is much more to do. We’ll continue to lean into our history to accelerate our journey, and we’ll update you regularly to share our progress.” – Bob Bakish, ViacomCBS President & CEO
About ViacomCBS
ViacomCBS (NASDAQ: VIAC; VIACA) is a leading global media and entertainment company that creates premium content and experiences for audiences worldwide. Driven by iconic consumer brands, its portfolio includes CBS, Showtime Networks, Paramount Pictures, Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central, BET, Paramount+, Pluto TV and Simon & Schuster, among others. The company delivers the largest share of the U.S. television audience and boasts one of the industry’s most important and extensive libraries of TV and film titles. In addition to offering innovative streaming services and digital video products, ViacomCBS provides powerful capabilities in production, distribution and advertising solutions for partners on five continents.
For more information about ViacomCBS, please visit www.viacomcbs.com and follow @ViacomCBS on social platforms.
2020 In Focus: ViacomCBS Social Impact Review
By Bob Bakish | President and CEO, ViacomCBS
2020 was a year of rising to the occasion: one in which ViacomCBS had to demonstrate who we are as a company and how we show up for our employees, audiences, communities and partners around the world. We faced one of the worst health crises in a generation and a racial reckoning that continues to reverberate across our society. In true ViacomCBS fashion, we responded quickly and strengthened our commitment to social impact by building on our legacy of driving change and using our power as a global content creator for good.
Across our organization, we took action that led to real results. We helped launch #AloneTogether, a massive social and talent-led campaign that included over 174,000 TV spots and social media posts to educate our audiences about the importance of social distancing and drive unity through entertainment despite the pandemic. In response to the watershed moments of racial injustice, we stood up for what’s right by deepening and expanding our commitments to advance equality and combat social biases. We went dark across our channels on June 1 to honor George Floyd and pay tribute to the victims and communities affected by racial violence. We used our platforms to help drive historic early voting turnout, with more than 3 million votes cast on Vote Early Day in the U.S. We engaged more than 75 partners so that ViacomCBS employees and their families could contribute over 7,500 volunteer hours through our global Virtual Community Day celebration.
This is just a snapshot of the impact ViacomCBS had last year. Our social impact strategy was rooted in making the most of our core strengths by unleashing the power of our content, creating inspiring cultural moments, reaching diverse audiences across the globe, empowering our employees and continuing to build our legacy. And while this work has been woven into the fabric of our company for decades, we’re proud to release this report and share how we harnessed this energy to make a real difference in 2020. We focused on the following areas:
- Our Response to COVID-19
- Social & Racial Justice
- Mental Health
- Civic Engagement
- Giving Back
At our core, ViacomCBS is made up of a team of doers and creatives looking to change the world. As a one of the world’s largest content creators, our commitment to social impact is a top priority.
This commitment starts with me, my senior leadership team and our Board of Directors, and extends across our entire organization. We also have some of the most powerful brands across every genre, format and demographic. And that brings a unique responsibility and opportunity to use our content, platforms and reach for action.
This is what we do best at ViacomCBS. As we continue this work, we are committed to doing our part to cultivate meaningful and lasting change in our communities and helping eradicate hate worldwide.
We know our work isn’t done, and that there is much more to do. We’ll continue to lean into our history to accelerate our journey, and we’ll update you regularly to share our progress.
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