BILLBOARD WATCH - Nissan ad at LAX terminal. The airport advertising contract is held by JC Decaux, which spent $345,000 lobbying city officials last year.
Billboard companies spent over $1.23 million lobbying City Council members and other public officials in 2012, according to reports filed with the City Ethics Commmission. That figure is almost 50 per cent higher than the amount the companies paid to lobbyists in 2011.
Once again, Clear Channel led the spending parade, paying $409,452 to registered lobbying firms. Close behind was French billboard giant JC Decaux, with a reported $345,556 in lobbying expenditures.
Clear Channel has been pushing the city for a deal to keep digital billboards despite a court ruling that has thrown them into jeopardy. JC Decaux holds the advertising concession at LAX and Ontario airports, and the street furniture contract with the city of LA, in a joint venture with CBS Outdoor.
Other L.A. billboard companies with reported lobbying expenditures in 2012 were:
● Regency Outdoor $126,958
● CBS Outdoor $121,303
● Van Wagner $110,808
● Lamar Advertising $60,000
● National Promotions and Advertising $46,547
● Outdoor Ad Coalition $15,500
Payments were made to a total of 13 registered lobbying firms, according to Ethics Commission reports.
(Dennis Hathaway is the president of The Coalition to Ban Billboard Blight. He can be reached at [email protected])
-cw
CityWatch
Vol 11 Issue 12
Pub: Feb 8, 2013
