Last week Philadelphia’s KYW began running a series from consumer reporter Jim Donovan called “Claim Your Cash” in which the station helps viewers receive money and property that they may unknowingly have tied up in Pennsylvania’s Treasury Department.
According to the CBS-affiliate, Pennsylvania has $1.6 billion in unclaimed money and property, much of it owed to residents of the Philadelphia area. Donovan visited with Treasury officials and, after his initial report last week (video above), he’s appeared on KYW to read off the names of people that have money and/or property owed to them.
It sounds part game show, part early morning infomercial, and part consumer report but there’s no denying that KYW’s “Claim Your Cash” is having a significant impact on the station’s viewers, as well as the station’s viewership.
So far, KYW has helped people reclaim nearly $6 million of cash and property. Viewers have filed over 12,000 claims with the Treasury Department, the majority of which came through the station’s website. Since the beginning of the series, KYW’s website has seen a traffic spike of nearly a quarter million pageviews.
Even the station itself has been rewarded with $367.
Donovan led a similar on-air campaign several years ago during his time with WGHP in High Point, NC. The station aired weekly segments in which Donovan reunited viewers with unclaimed funds. According to KYW, Donovan helped return $1.4 million to North Carolina residents.
“Television can use its power for good,” Donovan told the Philadelphia Inquirer this week about “Claim Your Cash.”