Monday, October 8, 2012

Sunday Globe Special: Tuning in the TV

"Election spending on local TV surges; Amounts so far significantly above total for 2008 races" by Erin Ailworth  |  Globe Staff, September 23, 2012

With Election Day still more than six weeks away, the amount spent on political advertising on Boston television stations is already significantly higher than it was for the entire 2008 campaign, driven by a tight Senate race in Massachusetts and the presidential candidates’ feverish bid for electoral votes in New Hampshire....

a spending spree that is expected to accelerate....

The barrage may not please many viewers, but the political spots provide crucial revenue for Boston TV stations....

While websites and social media are figuring more prominently in political campaigns this year — and print publications and radio still account for some spending — television advertising on network affiliates remains the main attraction.

Television is crucial in political campaigns in large part because it is still one of the best ways to consistently reach voters.

By federal mandate, candidates for president and Congress receive preferential treatment when booking advertising time, and stations must give equal airtime to each side of a race. Candidates can also buy television advertising time at a discount from the going commercial rate. The result all too often: back-to-back political spots which can bump more lucrative commercial advertising.

Bruce Mittman, president of Mittcom, a Boston advertising and marketing agency, estimated that the US Senate race in Massachusetts between Scott Brown and Elizabeth Warren has accounted for roughly half the money spent in the Boston television market....

Both are buying time on popular day- and night-time shows that can attract several million viewers nationwide — programs such as “Good Morning America,” “Rachael Ray,’’ “Jeopardy!’’ and “2 Broke Girls.’’

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