system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5:What exactly is Publishers Clearing House and how can they give away all that money?

I recently saw a commercial and it was some crazy amount that they were giving away like 7,000 dollars a week for life. I did the math and that's 336,000 dollars a year. For lifetime? Surely there's a catch or something?
gpt
Publishers Clearing House sells magazines(and other products) via the mail. You select which magazines you want, send them money, you get your magazine subscriptions.

They started offering prizes as a way to advertise and increase business. Their main competitor, American Family did the same. Both substantially increased their prize payouts. 

The catch? Is that you're odds are about half a billion to 1. So, you probably won't win. 

They can give away all that money because it's an effective advertising tool. The same way Pepsi can afford to show commercials during the Super Bowl.