Outfront Media, Inc. is one of the largest outdoor media companies. It operates in markets including the United States and Canada. The Americas division is led by chief executive officer Jeremy Male. Outfront Media operates both billboards and transit displays.

History

TDI (Transportation Displays Incorporated) was the first predecessor company for transit advertising, publishing advertising for passenger railroad timetables and displays in railroad terminals. TDI was first incorporated in 1938. TDI was sold to IT&T in the early 1970s and then to the Winston Network in the early 1980s, it was later renamed TDI in 1989 led by Bill Apfelbaum. In 1996 the company was sold to Infinity Broadcasting. The transit business and the billboard business merged in 2001 under the name Viacom Outdoor.

The billboard division was originally two separate companies: National Advertising Company (also known as 3M National or National 3M), the outdoor advertising subsidiary of 3M; and Gannett Outdoor, owned by the

Gannett Company Gannett Co., Inc. () is an American mass media holding company headquartered in McLean, Virginia, in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.spinning off Gannett Outdoor and selling it to Phoenix, Arizona-based Outdoor Systems Advertising. OSI would later acquire 3M National in May 1997, but before that sale was finalized, the United States Justice Department ruled that Outdoor Systems had to sell nearly all of its 3M billboards in ten U.S. cities (all 3M billboards in Phoenix, Arizona; Sacramento, California; New Orleans; Louisville, Kentucky; Denver; Detroit;

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

and Grand Rapids, Michigan; plus almost all 3M billboards in Atlanta and half of 3M's billboards in Houston) where both Outdoor Systems (OSI) and 3M National already had billboards to Lamar Advertising to avoid a monopoly in these cities. On December 7, 1999, Outdoor Systems (OSI) was bought by

Infinity Infinity is that which is boundless, endless, or larger than any natural number. It is often denoted by the infinity symbol . Since the time of the ancient Greeks, the philosophical nature of infinity was the subject of many discussions amo ...

and became Infinity Outdoor. Infinity was absorbed into

Viacom Viacom, an abbreviation of Video and Audio Communications, may refer to: * Viacom (1952–2006), a former American media conglomerate * Viacom (2005–2019), a former company spun off from the original Viacom * Viacom18, a joint venture between Par ...

in 2001, and became Viacom Outdoor. When

split from CBS Corporation in December 2005, it became CBS Outdoor. CBS owned CBS Outdoor as a division of CBS until March 2014, at which point it was spun off into an independent company. CBS Corporation continued to own 83% of Outfront Media, although this number is expected to decline over time as Outfront Media converts into a real estate investment trust and CBS Corporation divests itself of the outdoor unit. CBS Outdoor shares began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on March 28, 2014. In July 2014, it was announced that CBS Outdoor would acquire the billboard business of Van Wagner Communications for $690 million. As of July 17, 2014, CBS Outdoor became a fully independent corporation, operating as a real estate investment trust. The company announced it would rename itself as to Outfront Media, Inc., effective November 20, 2014. The company's ticker symbol on the NYSE changed from CBSO to OUT. A rebranding program converted billboards, signage and displays from CBS Outdoor to Outfront logos. In October 2015, Outfront Media refused to post

New York City Subway The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October 2 ...

ads involving Thinx underwear for women, on the basis that the word period was used in the advertisement copy and was accompanied by images of grapefruits. Since then, Outfront Media has expanded its initiatives, such as a campaign with Dogology Inc., a virtual dog training startup, and the installation of digital advertising screens in the New York City Subway. These campaigns have been highly successful. Further, executives were devising new strategies with the growth of 5G technology. In September 2018 ‘Today, I’m Brave,’ the Los Angeles-based non-profit born out of creative agency David&Goliath, put together a fundraising initiative with the purpose of aiding Puerto Rico's recovery from Hurricane Maria. As part of this effort, Outfront donated a billboard that went up in the heart of Hollywood on the one year anniversary of Hurricane Maria and Hurricane Irma to commemorate and raise funds for hurricane victims. In October 2018, an 18-member coalition of Chicago Southland churches, synagogues and mosques spread the message "One God, Three Faiths" using Outfront billboards. According to a CNBC interview Outfront Media chief executive officer Jeremy Male, out-of-home media is a popular medium among top tech and consumer companies, and is a growing advertising medium.

Worldwide

United States

Outfront Media holds advertising contracts including: * MTA New York City Transit (NYCT)

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

and

subway Subway, Subways, The Subway, or The Subways may refer to: Transportation * Subway, a term for underground rapid transit rail systems * Subway (underpass), a type of walkway that passes underneath an obstacle * Subway (George Bush Interconti ...

Metro-North Railroad Metro-North Railroad , trading as MTA Metro-North Railroad, is a suburban commuter rail service run by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a New York State public benefit corporations, public authority of the U.S. state of New Yor ...

Long Island Rail Road The Long Island Rail Road , often abbreviated as the LIRR, is a commuter rail system in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk Co ...

(these were previously under Titan Outdoor from 2007-2010), New York City * Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), Washington, DC * Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA), Los Angeles * Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA), Atlanta * Valley Metro Regional Public Transportation Authority of greater Phoenix, Arizona, transit shelters and light rail (Valley Metro) * Detroit Department of Transportation,

Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation The Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART) is the public transit operator serving the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan, United States. It supplements the Detroit Department of Transportation, which operates buses within the ...

and Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority in Metro Detroit * Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission (PRTC), Prince William County, Virginia * Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), Santa Clara County, California, Silicon Valley

Canada

Outfront Media Canada (''Outfront Média'' in Quebec) is an outdoor representative in Canada. Major products/contracts include: * Mississauga Transit advertising on buses *

Transit shelter Transit may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Transit'' (1979 film), a 1979 Israeli film * ''Transit'' (2005 film), a film produced by MTV and Staying-Alive about four people in countries in the world * ''Transit'' (2006 film), a 2006 ...

contracts in the municipalities of: Halifax, Cape Breton, Saint John, Quebec City, Saguenay, Trois-Rivières, Sherbrooke, Montreal, Oakville,

Mississauga Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popul ...

, Vaughan, Richmond Hill, Markham,

Pickering Pickering may refer to: Places Antarctica * Pickering Nunataks, Alexander Island Australia * Pickering, South Australia, the original name (1872–1940) of the town of Wool Bay * Pickering Brook, Western Australia, Australia Canada * Pic ...

, Newmarket, Hamilton, London, Windsor, Leamington, Sarnia, Barrie, Winnipeg,

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

, Edmonton, and Vancouver * In addition Outfront Media Canada represents products including billboards,

murals A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spanish ...

and large format products like Superboards in the top markets across the country. Outfront Media products are audited and measured by COMB (the Canadian Out-of-Home Measurement Bureau).

Past names

* National Advertising Company ( 3M National or National 3M) * Whiteco *

Gannett Gannett Co., Inc. () is an American mass media holding company headquartered in McLean, Virginia, in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.Viacom Viacom, an abbreviation of Video and Audio Communications, may refer to: * Viacom (1952–2006), a former American media conglomerate * Viacom (2005–2019), a former company spun off from the original Viacom * Viacom18, a joint venture between Par ...

Outdoor * CBS Outdoor * Transportation Displays, Inc. (TDI)

References

External links

* {{Authority control Advertising agencies of the United States Marketing companies established in 1938 Former CBS Corporation subsidiaries Outdoor advertising agencies Signage companies Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange