It’s all about the future of the children at KCCI-TV in Des Moines, Iowa. The Hearst-Argyle-owned CBS affiliate gets sponsors for four children- and education-related promotions: Teachers Aid, Read Me, Toys for Tots and School Net.

Under Teachers Aid, sponsor EMC Insurance presents a $500 check to a school to help a winning classroom purchase items on its wish list. EMC also sponsors Read Me, sends a news anchor into a school for story time and gives $500 toward funding the school’s library.

“We encourage local communities to log on to our Web site and make donations of items on the wish list. The sponsor is on-air, committing to the whole concept,” general sales manager Dave Porepp said.

School Net, sponsored by energy company CIPCO, has put weather sensors in a number of schools in the designated market area. “They provide real-time data we use on the weather station section of our Web site,” Mr. Porepp said. Curriculum materials are provided to the teachers.

WHO-TV, which has demographics very similar to KCCI’s, goes after advertisers by stressing its breadth of client and market research. The New York Times Broadcasting Co.-owned NBC affiliate subscribes to Scarborough Research, Lee Stowell and Survey USA.

“Nearly 70 percent of the clients we have on board utilize the research heavily,” said VP and General Manager Dan Lyons. He added that station advertisers also use whotv.com as a “bounce-back site.”

TV revenue for the Des Moines-Ames area grew 19.2 percent to $61.4 million from 2001 to 2002, but is expected to dip to $58.4 million by year-end, according to BIA Financial Network.

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