ATLANTA—Hoping to tap into growing political ad spending on digital platforms in what promises to be a record breaking election year, Gray Media has launched a new political digital advertising platform powered by Aristotle, a provider of political data and analytics.

The offering integrates Aristotle's political and consumer data into Gray's Political 360 go-to-market strategy that aims to provide candidates, issues, and advocacy organizations ways to reach constituents with greater precision across digital channels.

"We're excited to bring this advanced capability to our stations and to the candidates and media buyers we serve," said Mike Braun, Gray’s chief digital officer. "By combining Gray's local market strength and expertise with Aristotle's trusted, continuously updated voter intelligence, we can help campaigns engage their right voters at the right time with the right message."

The new Political 360 strategy is designed to help advertisers to move beyond broad demographic targeting and activate more precise voter audience segments. The data-driven approach improves campaign efficiency across devices and platforms and reduces wasted impressions, which Gray hopes will set it apart in the competition for what promises to be a record setting political advertising year.

"Successful campaigns depend on reaching the right voters with the right message at the right time," said Aristotle executive vice president of data Andrew Tavani. "By combining Gray's unmatched local market presence with Aristotle's trusted voter and consumer data, Political 360 gives campaigns a smarter, more efficient way to connect with the audiences that matter most."

Through Political 360, Gray leverages Aristotle's large national databases, including:

• The National Voter File, covering more than 235 million registered U.S. voters and sourced from more than 4,000 election jurisdictions.
• The National Consumer File, built from more than 267 million consumer records and enriched with demographic and lifestyle attributes.

These datasets enable Gray to support campaign strategies such as targeting party-specific voters within a district during a primary window. Gray’s Political 360 helps campaigns focus their spend where it matters most, drive frequency, and build awareness and advocacy in the runup to Election Day.

ALEXANDRIA, Va.—New projections from AdImpact indicate that the 2026 election cycle will reach $11.6 billion in spending, making it the most expensive on record.

The $11.6 billion projection is up 30% from the midterm record set in 2022 at $8.9 billion will even surpass the $11.2 billion spent during the 2024 presidential cycle. That would be the first time that midterm spending has been larger than the previous presidential election cycle.

“Current spending is pacing well ahead of previous years, with multiple record-breaking races already concluded and early pre-booking numbers indicating spending will remain strong through the campaign season,” said John Link, senior vice president of data at AdImpact. “As the fallout of redistricting plays out, we expect that the remaining competitive seats will draw more concentrated spending than ever.”

Broadcast television remains the dominant force in political advertising, maintaining 48% of total cycle spending. AdImpact is projecting $5.6 billion in spending, up $330 million from its previous projection of $5.3 billion released in September 2025.

While the 2026 election cycle will be a bonanza for broadcasters, connected television continues its ascent as the fastest-growing media type in political advertising. AdImpact has revised its projection from $2.5 billion to $2.7 billion, maintaining its 23% share of total cycle spending. Digital spending across Facebook, Google, Snapchat and X has also been revised upward to $1.6 billion, a 9% increase from the original projection.

AdImpact’s updated estimate is driven by a handful of spending increases in statewide Senate and gubernatorial races. Ohio sees the largest increase from initial projections, jumping by $309 million to a revised total of $749 million. Texas and Maine are also leading the growth, with Texas jumping $288 million and Maine increasing $185 million due to early Senate race activity.

Overall, the competitive landscape of the Senate has evolved since last fall, driving an increase from $2.8 billion to $3.4 billion in AdImpact’s latest projection. This marks a 48% increase over 2022 and 27% increase over 2024. In the House, AdImpact is revising its previous projection down from $2.2 billion to $2 billion as redistricting outcomes led to 28 races becoming less competitive.

Gubernatorial spending has risen 25% from AdImpact’s previous estimate, going from $1.9 billion to $2.4 billion. California’s gubernatorial race is on pace to become the most expensive in history, with a projected $351 million. Georgia, projected at $197 million, is on pace to rank among the most expensive gubernatorial races in history.

Additionally, down ballot and state legislative spending are on pace to reach record levels in 2026, with a combined projected spend of $3.7 billion, surpassing the prior high of $3.2 billion in 2022. Down ballot spending alone is projected at $3 billion, the highest single-cycle total on record. State legislative spending is similarly elevated, with $698 million projected for 2026, up 17% from 2024.

The full report is available here.

New projections from S&P Global Market Research confirm that local political ad spending will be a windfall for broadcasters in 2026, with revenue expected to reach $4.02 billion.

That is up 15% from the last midterms in 2022.

The study also highlights the growing importance of political advertisers in a period when core advertising has been relatively sluggish. In a blog post, S&P Global Market Research analyst Peter Leitzinger predicted political ad revenue to be 16.3% of net total broadcast revenue in 2026, a record for a nonpresidential election year.

However, the study found that the largest growth segment within political advertising in 2026 is the growth of political advertising on connected TV (CTV).

That trend highlights the importance of ongoing efforts by broadcast TV groups to bulk up their digital operations. Even so linear TV still commands close to half of all political advertising dollars.

The study also ranked the TV station groups with the largest number of stations in states with highly contested congressional races. Sinclair ranks first with 26 stations. Nexstar Media Group and Gray Media followed with 23 stations.

As of the March 19 closing of Nexstar's purchase of Tegna, Nexstar will have the most full-power TV stations in competitive swing states.

NEW YORK—A new survey from Video Advertising Bureau (VAB) finds that TV news remains the most consumed, most trusted news source and that key consumer groups for advertisers are more likely to turn to TV rather than social media for breaking news.

The new report called “That’s The Way It Is: How TV News Provides Scale, Attention & Engagement For High-Value Audiences” explores viewership of TV news versus other media platforms among three key audiences valued by advertisers: adults 35-54, individuals in $100K+ households and full-time employed adults.

The report—based on findings from a December 2025 survey conducted in partnership with Dynata of 2,319 U.S. adults—found that about half of these audience cohorts — 52% of those aged 35-54, 46% individuals in households making more than $100,000 a year and 56% of full-time employed adults — are watching more TV news compared to the previous year.

They are also much more likely to go to TV news first over social media for breaking news coverage and updates on major news stories. TV news is also their top source by far for vital information that personally impacts their daily lives, like weather and traffic.

“Multiscreen TV news plays a central role in keeping influential audiences informed,” said Jason Wiese, executive vice president of strategic insights and measurement, VAB. “From breaking headlines and defining political moments to local community updates, multiscreen TV news keeps key audiences connected to the stories shaping their world. In a media environment filled with misinformation and noise, it continues to stand out for its quality, reliability, accuracy and integrity.”

“The results underscore the value of multiscreen TV news as a credible, brand-safe platform for reaching influential audiences at scale, especially in comparison with social platforms and technologies like AI,” added Wiese. “Across linear and streaming, multiscreen TV news offers advertisers an environment that pairs trust and attention with meaningful consumer engagement and action.”

The VAB researchers described the other key findings as follows:

• Viewers are more than twice as likely to have a higher opinion of the advertisers in local TV news. Additionally, high-income households and employed viewers are more than 2x more likely to buy from advertisers seen during national TV news.
• Collectively, households with an income of $100K+ are almost 13x more likely to trust TV news than social media platforms — with TV the most trusted news source as both local and national TV far outpace search, social media and AI across these audiences.
• Social media is seen as a far greater source of false information — with 46% of A35–54, 58% of HHI $100K+ and 50% of full-time employed adults saying it is the most likely to provide fake or misleading information, compared to 20%, 13% and 17% who say TV.
• TV offers a range of engaging political content throughout the election season, and that heightened viewer engagement increases the likelihood of buying from advertisers that are adjacent to political programming or political ads. In fact, high-income households are 114% more likely to buy from advertisers during a political debate or town hall.

The full report—which includes in-depth data, charts and analysis—here.

NEW YORK—As local stations, TV news outlets and networks ramp up their efforts to secure a larger share of what promises to be record political spending in the fall mid-term 2026 elections, the Video Advertising Bureau (VAB) has released a new study that examines how effective political messaging is likely to be on various platforms.

The December 2025 survey based on findings conducted in partnership with Dynata of 2,319 U.S. adults examined behaviors and sentiments across five key voting and party affiliation groups, potential voters, non-voters, Republicans, Democrats and Independents. It also examined how viewers spend their time, what sources they trust most and how different TV contexts influence outcomes for political messaging.

Results, published as “The Lead Story: How Multiscreen TV Drives Cross-Partisan Engagement for Political Ad Campaigns” found that Americans overwhelmingly trust TV news over any other digital media source like search, social or AI. Collectively, potential voters are almost 9 times more likely to trust TV news than social media platforms, while 50% of total respondents rank AI lowest for trust.

In addition, the survey found that audiences turn to TV news sources to stay informed on political issues far more than any other platform. Further, voters are 60% more likely to use TV news to stay informed than they are social media, and twice as likely than non-voters to be pay-TV subscribers.

TV news is also the primary starting point for understanding current events or issues for voters, while social media is viewed as more supplemental. Moreover, voters are much more likely to watch TV news—with 61% typically watching local news and 57% typically watching national news, compared to 38% and 25% of non-voters, respectively.

Social media is far more likely than TV programs to be viewed as a source of fake or misleading information, as potential voters are almost 3x more likely to believe social media platforms are most likely to provide fake or misleading information vs. TV.

Beyond political ads, people are much more likely to purchase products from advertisers in TV news, as potential voters are 42% more likely than not to buy from advertisers adjacent to a breaking news story on local TV news.

"Today's voters, regardless of political involvement or party affiliation, move fluidly across trusted multiscreen TV platforms, spanning both linear and streaming, to stay informed on current events and political issues," said Jason Wiese, executive vice president of strategic insights & measurement, VAB. "TV news delivers the scale, trust, credibility and authenticity that no other media can for both political and non-political advertisers. This creates the opportunity to reach audiences in high-quality viewing environments that are positively perceived and can inform, engage and ultimately drive action."

The full report is available here.

WASHINGTON—The Federal Communications Commission has issued detailed guidance on filings that were disrupted by the government shutdown. While many of those filings are now due on Nov. 18, the regulator also provided a long list of exceptions and laid out a staggered schedule for political filings.

As previously reported, the government shutdown prompted the FCC to suspend most operations from Oct. 1-Nov. 12. Certain electronic filing and database systems were unavailable during this time.

On November 13, 2025, the commission further extended all such deadlines until at least Nov. 18 and said it would provide additional guidance on specific deadlines to address the processing of what promised to be a backlog and flood of filings.

In providing the new guidance, the agency said, “While we recognize that these extensions do not afford an extension of time equal to the length of the funding lapse in all cases, we believe these extension periods are reasonable under the circumstances. Commission staff will consider requests for further extensions in individual matters, as appropriate.”

It also stressed that the new public notice on filing deadlines “supersedes any filing deadline or time period set forth in the Public Notices of September 30, October 1 and November 13 to the extent that they are inconsistent with any deadlines or time periods set forth herein…The extensions contained in this Public Notice do not apply to NORS and DIRS filings and filings related to spectrum auction activities authorized by section 309(j).”

More specifically, the FCC described exemptions to the filing schedule as follows: :

• ULS Applications and Notifications. "All ULS applications and notifications originally due to be filed in accordance with the Commission’s rules (e.g., sections 1.913, 1.946) on October 1, 2025, through and including December 5, 2025, are now due on December 5, 2025 (except certain Personal Radio Services renewals as described below). This extension does not apply to filings associated with spectrum auction activities authorized by section 309(j). In addition, all ULS filings that applicants attempted to file on October 1, 2025 (before ULS became unavailable on that day) will be considered received on November 18, 2025. For personal radio licensees (i.e., Amateur, Ship, Aircraft, GMRS, and Commercial Operator Licenses), renewal filings originally due on October 1, 2025, through and including March 5, 2026, are now due on March 5, 2026. Further, we confirm that licensees whose licenses have expired and whose renewal filing deadlines have been extended above may rely on their timely renewal filing (by the extended deadline) to support continued operation pursuant to section 1.62 of the Commission’s rules. 47 CFR § 1.62."
• Licensing and Management System. "The Media Bureau will release an additional public notice that outlines the filing and processing deadlines for all Media Bureau filings in LMS."
• Informal Consumer Complaints. "Service providers’ ability to respond to informal complaints was not affected by the partial lapse in funding. Nothing in this Public Notice changes any associated filing dates."
• Quarterly Issues Report Filings: "All quarterly issue report filings that were to be filed by October 10, 2025, will now have a deadline of December 1, 2025. The Media Bureau encourages licensees to file earlier than the deadline noted above."
• EEO Filings: "All EEO filings that were to be filed by October 1, 2025, will now have a deadline of November 24, 2025. The Media Bureau encourages licensees to file earlier than the deadline noted above. Broadcast EEO audit responses that were to be filed by October 17, 2025 as per the September 12, 2025 Public Notice See Enforcement Bureau Extends Deadline for 2025 EEO Audits and Issues Further Guidance to Respondents, Public Notice, DA 25-847 (EB Sept. 12, 2025) will likewise be due by November 24, 2025."
• LPTV Major Modification Filing Opportunities. "On September 3, 2025, the Media Bureau issued a Public Notice announcing a phased approach for permitting Class A television, low power television (LPTV), and television (TV) translator stations to file major modification applications and new LPTV and TV translator station applications. Media Bureau Announces a Phased Resumption of First-Come, First-Served Processing of Applications for Major Changes for Class A, LPTV, and TV Translator Stations and Applications for New LPTV and TV Translator Stations, Public Notice, DA 25-792 (MB Sept. 3, 2025). The Media Bureau will release a further public notice providing revised deadlines for these filing opportunities. All major modification applications remain frozen. Id. at 2 (freezing all LPTV, TV translator and Class A major modification applications effective September 3, 2025). Minor modification applications (including displacement applications) may still be filed."
• DIRS Modernization, PS Docket Nos. 21-346 and 15-80 and ET Docket No. 04-35. "Comments in response to the Third Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on modernizing DIRS were due on October 2, 2025, and reply comments were due on November 3, 2025. Resilient Networks, PS Docket No. 21-346, Third Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Order on Reconsideration, FCC 25-45 (Aug. 6, 2025); Federal Communications Commission, Resilient Networks; Disruptions to Communications, 90 Fed. Reg. 42355 (Sept. 2, 2025). To ensure that there is sufficient time for commenters to review the record and submit reply comments, comments shall be due on November 18, 2025, and reply comments shall be due on December 18, 2025."
• Petition for Rulemaking on Part 90 Signal Boosters, RM-12009. "Comments in response to the Public Notice seeking comment on Part 90 signal boosters were due on October 16, 2025, and reply comments were due on October 31, 2025. Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau and Wireless Telecommunications Bureau Seek Comment on Safer Buildings Coalition Petition for Rulemaking on Part 90 Signal Boosters, RM-12009, Public Notice, DA 25-853 (PSHSB, WTB Sept. 16, 2025). To ensure that there is sufficient time for commenters to review the record and submit reply comments, comments shall be due on November 18, 2025, and reply comments shall be due on December 18, 2025."
• 911 Reliability Certifications, PS Docket 13-75. "Covered 911 service providers may have been prevented from filing their annual 911 reliability certifications on or before October 15, 2025 during the partial lapse in funding. The 911 reliability certification deadline will be extended to December 12, 2025."
• Next Generation 911 Requests, PS Docket 25-143. "NG911 valid requests that 911 Authorities filed in the Commission’s NG911 Registry in ECFS during the funding lapse may not have appeared to the public until after ECFS became available on November 13, 2025. The compliance deadlines for originating service providers from a request filed in the NG911 Registry during the funding lapse will run from the date the request is posted to ECFS, and is therefore available to the public to view. If a 911 Authority instead directly notified an originating service provider of its NG911 valid request during the funding lapse (i.e., the 911 Authority did not use the NG911 Registry), the originating service provider’s compliance deadlines are unchanged."
• Equipment Authorization System – TCB and Test Lab Recognitions. "Telecommunications certification bodies (TCBs) and testing laboratories recognized by the FCC on September 30, 2025 may have been prevented from seeking timely renewal of recognition during the funding lapse. TCB and test lab recognition expiration dates will be extended until December 31, 2025 for TCBs and labs that were: (a) recognized by the FCC on September 15, 2025; (b) had their recognitions expire between September 15 and December 1, 2025; and (c) may be considered for recognition under 47 CFR § 2.951. Deadlines will not be extended for any laboratory in which a prohibited entity has, possesses, or otherwise controls equity or voting interests of 10% or more. 47 CFR § 2.951(b)(1)."
• 11. Tower Construction Notification System (TCNS); Electronic Section 106 System (E-106); Antenna Structure Registration (ASR) System, and Environmental Assessments (EAs) submitted pursuant to section 1.1308(a) of the Commission’s rules. "Due to the unavailability of these systems during the period of time that the Commission suspended operations, deadlines and Tribal review timelines for filings made in connection with these systems or programs, including related submissions for environmental and historic preservation review, are tolled between October 1, 2025 and November 17, 2025. Regarding the TCNS database, Tribal Nations have a 30-day period to review an application once it is uploaded to the E-106 system. Tribes that fail to respond after 30 days may be referred to the Commission to conclude review obligations. For example, if an applicant uploaded a Form 620 into the E-106 system on September 29, 2025, the TCNS review clock would have stopped on October 1, 2025, and resumed on November 18, 2025. In this example, two days would have elapsed for purposes of Tribal notification, and the earliest that a non-responsive Tribe may be referred would be December 15, 2025. As to ASR and EA filings, the public comment deadline is similarly tolled during the Commission’s suspended operations. Commission staff will adjust dates accordingly for applications that were pending within any of these systems at the time the Commission suspended operations. Any questions about TCNS/E-106 timelines should be sent to tcnshelp@fcc.gov. Questions regarding EA and ASR filings should be directed to the FCC WTB Help Desk (1-877-480-3201). In addition, Bureaus and Offices may, by further public notice, set filing deadlines different than those specified in this Public Notice for filings in specific proceedings or classes of proceedings."
• Responsive Pleadings. "Where reply comments or responsive pleadings are permitted with respect to initial filings with due dates extended by this Public Notice, the filing deadlines for such reply or responsive pleadings will be extended for a period of time equivalent to the extension provided for initial filing so as to afford responding parties the same amount of time. Thus, for example, if comments in a rulemaking proceeding were originally due on October 15 and reply comments were due fifteen days later, comments are now due on November 18, as set forth above, and reply comments are due fifteen days thereafter on December 3. The due dates for reply or responsive pleadings to pleadings filed prior to the suspension of operations, other than pleadings related to spectrum activities authorized by section 309(j), are extended according to the general extension schedule set forth above unless otherwise specified."
• Statutory Deadlines. "The Commission cannot waive statutory filing deadlines such as those associated with petitions for reconsideration. Nonetheless, because of the disruption and uncertainty associated with the suspension of Commission activities and the relaunch of Commission filing systems, we will consider the Commission closed for purposes of section 1.4(e) of our rules until Tuesday, November 18, 2025 with respect to the filing of documents with statutory deadlines, other than for filings related to spectrum auction activities authorized by section 309(j) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended. This determination does not impact statutory deadlines unrelated to filings with the Commission, such as broadcast operation requirements under section 312(g) of the Communications Act. 47 U.S.C. § 312(g). Also, extensions of deadlines for filing license applications or notifications of completion of construction of station facilities will not serve to extend existing deadlines for completion of construction. Existing rules and procedures for seeking extensions of deadlines unrelated to filings should be followed."
• Special Temporary Authority (STA). "Any STAs that would have expired from October 1, 2025, through December 5, 2025, are extended until December 5, 2025."
• Fee and Other Payments. "Due dates for fee payments that can only be made through the FCC’s Fee Filer System and that otherwise fell due between October 1, 2025, and December 5, 2025, are extended according to the same schedule set forth above for regulatory filings. All other payments remain due on their originally scheduled dates."
• Transaction Shot Clock. "The Commission’s informal 180-day shot clocks for review of transactions that were suspended on September 30, 2025, due to the suspension of operations, are restarted as of November 13, 2025. For example, if September 30, 2025 was day 101 of the shot clock for a particular transaction, November 13, 2025 is day 102. This Public Notice has no effect on the timeframes for review of transactions as to which the informal shot clock was suspended on or before September 30, 2025, for reasons unrelated to the partial lapse in funding."
• Enforcement Matters. "With the exception of broadcast EEO audit responses discussed above, the extension of filing deadlines does not apply to any enforcement matters for which other deadlines have been set by the Enforcement Bureau."

The FCC’s Media Bureau also established a staggered filing window approach for commission licensees required to upload records of requests to purchase broadcast time. It described these windows for broadcasters in different states as follows:

• Nov. 19-26 for licensees in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.
• Dec. 1-8 for licensees located in Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.
• Dec. 9-16 for licensees located in California.
• Dec. 17-24 for licensees in all other states and territories.

More details can be found here and here (for political).

ALEXANDRIA, Va.—AdImpact has announced that Comcast Technology Solutions’ (CTS) creative management platform, AdFusion has been integrated into AdImpact's data-driven political media buying solution, Potomac.

The joint solution enables political advertisers and agencies using Potomac to streamline complex workflows involved in media planning, buying, traffic management, content delivery and reconciliation, the companies reported.

“Thanks to recent technological advancements, the political ad landscape has evolved rapidly, but many aspects of the media buying process have remained complex and manual,” said Kyle Roberts, CEO of AdImpact. “While Potomac has helped automate key steps to ensure campaigns are delivered on time and on budget, this integration marks a major milestone in our mission to modernize media buying. By integrating AdFusion into Potomac, agencies can further simplify the process to execute media buys more efficiently, effectively, and at scale.”

With the integration of AdFusion, which combines media buys with creative assets and metadata to accelerate the flow of creative traffic and content delivery, Potomac enables agencies to reduce errors, accelerate time to air and optimize ad placements across broadcast, CTV and digital platforms. By transmitting buy line level data directly to AdFusion, agencies and their advertisers can now execute traffic and content delivery more precisely than ever, the companies explained.

“In an increasingly fragmented media landscape, political advertisers need solutions that ensure they’re maximizing their investments,” said Bart Spriester, Bart Spriester, senior vice president and general manager of streaming, broadcast & advertising for Comcast Technology Solutions. “Our collaboration with AdImpact expands the capabilities of AdFusion to bring a new level of efficiency to media buyers, helping them achieve better outcomes with less operational complexity.”

For more information about Potomac, visit www.adimpact.com.

For more information about CTS’ AdFusion visit https://www.comcasttechnologysolutions.com/who-we-serve/adfusion.

WASHINGTON—As political strategists prepare for the 2026 and 2028 U.S. elections, a new study highlights some of the trends, particularly the growth of CTV political advertising and programmatic advertising, that will be reshaping political advertising in the next few years.

In the study, Basis Technologies provides data showing the continued growth of CTV and programmatic advertising in political campaigns during the 2024 elections.

The study found that among digital devices, CTV increased its programmatic ad share of impressions to 24% (up from 11% in 2022) and share of spend to 50% (up from 30% in 2022). In programmatic buying, CTV now garners the most digital ad spend over mobile, desktop or tablet during the elections.

“The collision of programmatic and CTV has transformed elections advertising. The trend that started to show life two cycles ago is now a regular part of the media plan for candidates, campaigns, PACs, and other organizations looking to reach and influence voters,” said Jaime Vasil, group VP of candidates and causes, Basis Technologies. “We expect more evolution in future cycles around buying automation, inventory curation and consolidation, and measurement. Furthermore, techniques to reach voters on digital devices are poised to improve, setting the stage for significant use of audience data in the next election.”

The data was compiled from more than 1400 advertisers for state, local and national races managing digital ad buying via Basis’ software platform. These political and advocacy advertisers encompassed millions of dollars in ad spend across display, video, native, search and social media. The report is available here.

‘US Elections Digital Advertising Trends’ is the fourth research report Basis has published following US elections. The report shows political digital strategies for:

• Connected TV and Video: Video is the dominant choice in ad formats with 76% ad spend share.
• Programmatic: Automated buying through demand-side platforms (DSPs) increased ad spend share to 56%, pushing down direct buying share to 30%.
• Pricing: In programmatic media, CPMs for political advertisers were below the election cycle average in the beginning half of 2024 and rose steadily beginning in July, and then grew sharply by October and November.
• Inventory Suppliers: The top suppliers in programmatic open bidding channels, by spend, were driven by CTV with LG, Yahoo, Paramount, Vizio and Gannett leading the way. Top private marketplace suppliers, by spend, were PubMatic, Magnite, Audigent, Index and Unruly.
• Curation: Four of the five most-used political-approved curated deals provided CTV inventory.
• Timing: Campaigns spent 48% of digital ad budgets in the last 30 days before Election Day, and 22% in the last 10 days – slight percentage declines from the previous election cycle.
• Impressions by State: Michigan and California garnered the most programmatic ad impressions, followed by Arizona, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Washington.

The researchers also stressed that Basis’ digital observations continue to show steady patterns in how political marketers spend. Its 2020 report showcased the rise in programmatic advertising and the awakening of CTV for elections. In 2022, it observed CTV gaining higher adoption and lifting direct spending because that was the primary tactic to buy it.

Looking forward the study noted that for special elections in 2025, and for the 2026 midterms, political advertisers should consider these factors for digital channels:

• CTV advertising is now offered through multiple paths such as open bidding, private marketplaces, direct deals and more. Although the choices and options may be complex, they are plentiful.
• Ad pricing will rise steeply during the last month of the election cycle. Favorable rates can be locked in when negotiated far in advance.
• Speed and agility matters. Arrange political-approved deals when aggregating inventory through select suppliers. Ensure that buying systems are collecting voter IDs lawfully. Automate creative approvals as much as possible.

The full report is available here.

New research on the 2023-24 election cycle has concluded, as expected, that it was the most expensive one ever. But an AdImpact study also found that the $11.1 billion record-breaking spending was not a bonanza for all media outlets, with 13 states accounting for $7.4 billion, representing 67% of total spending over the cycle.

It was also the first cycle where broadcasters’ share of total spending fell below 50%.

Overall the 2023-24 cycle was significantly higher than the $9.08 billion spend in the 2020 cycle and the $8.9 billion spent in the 2022 cycle.

During the 2024 cycle, spending was concentrated in battleground states, with Pennsylvania becoming the first state to reach $1 billion in spending. After Pennsylvania, Michigan ($806 million), Wisconsin ($673 million), and Arizona ($511 million) were also among the most-expensive states.

Overall, the report found broadcast spending hit $5.3 billion, while connected TV accounted for $2.3 billion. Digital, meanwhile, hit $1.6 billion.

Thanks to rapid growth, connected TV accounted for 21% of total cycle expenditures, which caused linear cable to fall by nearly $400 million, coming in at $1.37 billion.

The presidential race hit $3.2 billion, making it the most expensive in history. Senate races totaled $2.7 billion, with six contests exceeding $200 million. House spending rose to $1.7 billion, with 34 races surpassing $20 million, AdImpact reported.

Fifty-one percent of the 2024 cycle’s record-breaking $11.1 billion occurred in the election’s final eight weeks.

The report found that this was the first cycle in which broadcast’s share fell below 50%. But broadcasters still received $5.3 billion, $100 million more than the 2020 cycle and $620 million more than the 2022 cycle. The most significant shift came from CTV, which established itself as a major player in the media ecosystem. In its first full cycle of being tracked, CTV accounted for $2.3 billion in spending, making it the second-highest spending category and capturing 21% of total cycle expenditures.

A new study from The Myers Report estimates that U.S. political ad spending for the 2024 campaign will top $12 billion, eclipsing the $9.02 billion spent in 2020 and the $8.9 billion doled out for the 2022 midterms. The Myers Report conducted the analysis for the nonprofit MediaVillage Education Foundation.

The $12 billion figure—a 33% increase over the 2019-2020 election campaign—is part of an overall estimate of $18.2 billion that will be spent on reported and unreported political marketing investments, the researcher said.

As expected, broadcast television garnered most of the ad spending, receiving $6.1 billion, just over half of the total ad spend during the campaign season.

Myers expects connected TV to log $1.8 billion in political ad spending; cable to see $1.6 billion, which represents 13% of total spending; and digital platforms, including social media and online advertising, to get $1.6 billion. Radio/audio advertising is projected at $440 million and national network cable at $350 million, with satellite getting only $110 million of the total.

Outdoor advertising jumps 10% from 2020 with $1.1 billion in spending, Myers said.

The researcher noted that its report “focuses on political advertising expenditures by U.S.-based candidates, parties and Political Action Committees (PACs). It does not account for covert or illicit activities by foreign operatives from countries like Russia and China.”

With the presidential candidates raising record amounts this season—Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate, has raised more than $1 billion since entering the race in July—there’s no shortage of ad money to go around; NBC reported that nearly $1 billion was spent during Halloween week alone.

Although traditional media still dominates the political ad spending market, Myers noted, digital media and spending on more personal contact with voters are gaining traction when allocating campaign budgets.

“As the 2024 U.S. election cycle concludes, political advertising expenditures have reached unprecedented levels, underscoring the intensifying competition for voter attention across diverse media platforms,” the researcher said. “The 2024 election cycle underscores a pivotal shift in political advertising strategies.

“While traditional media like broadcast television continues to command significant investment, the surge in digital and CTV spending reflects a broader trend towards diversified media consumption. The increased emphasis on grassroots and field operations plus direct mail are experiencing significant growth. Campaigns are increasingly recognizing the need to engage voters across multiple platforms to effectively convey their messages.”

CINCINNATI—The E.W. Scripps Co. said it produced record revenue of $646 million in Q3 2024, driven by record spending on political advertising.

In addition, the company said it now expects full-year political advertising revenue to reach at least $340 million, which, combined with its efforts to control and reduce its expenses, has allowed it to reduce debt.

In its third-quarter results, Scripps also said \it had $33 million, or 37 cents per share, in income.

“Scripps’ Local Media political advertising revenue came in nearly 30% higher than our last presidential-election year political revenue, which also was a record year,” Scripps President and CEO Adam Symson said. “This 2024 level is a testament to the durability of local broadcast programming as the perfect vehicle for massive reach to deliver candidate and political action committee messaging. Our local news has always been a go-to for political advertising. This time around, our sports programming created significant additional opportunities for campaigns to efficiently and effectively reach voters, further boosting our political advertising revenue.”

The new estimate of total 2024 presidential-year political advertising revenue in the Local Media division of a record $340 million, far exceeds the guidance of $270 million to $290 million Scripps issued in August.

The results were driven by strong advertising buys with Scripps stations in Arizona, Michigan, Montana, Ohio, Nevada and Wisconsin. The political advertising demand caused significant displacement of core advertising in those 15 markets, which prompted declines in core advertising.

In the Scripps Networks division, tight expense management resulted in a nearly 4% decline in expenses. For the fourth quarter, Scripps expects an even greater decline in Networks expense, down in the high single-digits percent range, because of reductions at Scripps News and ongoing cost controls.

Scripps also touted the success of Ion’s Friday-night WNBA franchise, with telecasts surpassing more than 1 million viewers this past season. Ion’s average WNBA ratings more than doubled from last season, proving the platform’s value in attracting key demos with live sports. The top-performing night was the Aug. 30 Indiana Fever-Chicago Sky game, which drew an average audience of 1.6 million viewers and peaked at 2 million. Scripps’ full-season 2024 WNBA revenue was double that of the 2023 season.

The company paid down $115 million of debt in the third quarter, ending the period with a leverage ratio of 5.1 times, a significant improvement from 6 times at the end of Q2. The company will pay down about $300 million in debt this year.

Total third-quarter company revenue was $646 million, an increase of 14% or $79.8 million from the prior-year quarter. Costs and expenses for segments, shared services and corporate were $472 million, up from $469 million in the year-ago quarter.

Income attributable to the shareholders of Scripps was $33 million or 37 cents per share. Pretax costs for the quarter included a $12.7 million restructuring charge, decreasing the income attributable to shareholders by 11 cents per share. In the prior-year quarter, the loss attributable to shareholders was $16.2 million or 19 cents per share. The pre-tax costs for the prior-year quarter included $4.7 million in restructuring costs.

For its Local Media division, including its TV stations, revenue was $446 million, up 26% from the prior-year quarter. Core advertising revenue decreased 9.2% to $129 million, due in part to displacement from political advertising. Political revenue was $125 million, compared to $9.1 million in the prior-year quarter, a nonelection year. Distribution revenue was $186 million, compared to $198 million in the prior-year quarter. Segment expenses increased 2.4% to $285 million. Segment profit was $161 million, compared to $75 million in the year-ago quarter.

The National Association of Broadcasters says the FCC will face legal obstacles if it goes ahead with its plan to address political deepfakes.

The association continues to question the timing of the push to regulate the use of artificial intelligence in political advertising. In freshly filed comments, it again said the commission should let Congress take the lead on this issue, given the “substantial hurdles and complexity” involved.

If adopted, the FCC’s rulemaking would require broadcasters to identify political ads that include AI content. The commission also proposed requiring broadcast licensees to include a notice in their online political files about political ads that include AI-generated content.

The NAB says the FCC lacks statutory authority to implement these regulations and that the change would violate the First Amendment and the Administrative Procedure Act.

The group criticized previously filed comments from supporters: “Most comments defending the FCC’s authority to adopt its proposals can be summarized as follows: Because the proposals will serve the public interest, then the commission has authority to adopt them. That is error,” the NAB wrote.

It said that no matter how important an issue, an agency’s power to regulate in the public interest must be grounded in a valid grant of authority from Congress.

“Other attempts to justify the proposed rules under the Constitution are inapposite or nonsensical,” NAB said. “Mushing erroneous statutory-related arguments together does not create a convincing or even coherent First Amendment argument.”

The NAB said many commenters supporting the proposal don’t agree with the FCC’s definition of AI-generated content that would be subject to the rules or agree among themselves on how to decide that. And it says the FCC lacks any authority over political advertisers or ad creators.

It said the commission should simply close this proceeding without action. “Only Congress can address AI-generated political deepfakes across platforms and reach the advertisers creating political ads and thus should be the entity to take the lead in considering any needed regulatory action.”

State broadcast associations in jointly filed comments support that position. They too said the FCC’s definition of AI is too broad to be useful and that the administrative burdens on broadcasters would be “simply overwhelming” due to the extra education, inquiry, investigation and disclosure requirements proposed in the NPRM.

The FCC proposes to require that broadcasters inform the buyers of political ads about the station’s obligation to disclose the use of AI in political ads, adding to the complexity of selling political ads.

Broadcasters also would need to inquire about the use of AI in the creation of each spot received, including swap-out spots. They’d need to add a disclosure to any spot that uses AI, make airtime scheduling adjustments to accommodate disclaimers, and add disclosures to the station’s political file.

“The potential for irreparable damage to political speakers, broadcasters and the media-consuming public from well-intentioned but misdirected efforts to limit the impact of negative political AI use is vast,” the state associations wrote.

Comments on the FCC’s NPRM can be viewed via the FCC online system. Refer to proceeding 24-211.

This article originally appeared on TV Tech sister brand Radio World. 

WASHINGTON—The controversy over a Florida ballot measure that would enshrine the right to an abortion into the state’s constitution has spilled over to the FCC.

Following reports that TV stations in Florida received letters from the Florida Department of Health threatening to bring criminal charges against the stations for airing political ads supporting Amendment 4, FCC chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has issued a statement strongly condemning the threats.

“The right of broadcasters to speak freely is rooted in the First Amendment,” Rosenworcel, a Democrat, said. “Threats against broadcast stations for airing content that conflicts with the government’s views are dangerous and undermine the fundamental principle of free speech.”

The cease and desist letter from the Department of Health was received by WCJB-TV Gainesville and other stations for airing an ad supporting ballot measure that would protect abortion rights by adding them to the state constitution.

The state currently has a ban on abortions with very limited exceptions after six weeks. The ad tells the story of a pregnant cancer patient who said she had to leave the state to get an abortion needed to save her life.

“The doctors knew that if I did not end my pregnancy, I would lose my baby, I would lose my life,” the woman said in the ad. “And my daughter would lose her mom. Florida has now banned abortion even in cases like mine. Amendment 4 is going to protect women like me. We have to vote ‘yes.’ ”

Prior to the letter, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, had been attempting to block the ballot measure and had been spending public money on ads defending the six-week abortion ban that the ballot measure would overturn.

The letter to stations escalated that battle saying the ad was both “false” and “dangerous.”

If the stations didn’t stop airing the ad, the Department of Health threatened to prosecute them for violating sanitary nuisance laws typically used to prosecute people for things like overflowing septic tanks.

The full text of the Department of Health letter can be found here.

BALTIMORE—Sinclair has announced that it is updating its advertising guidance for the third quarter 2024 and for the full year to account for stronger-than-expected political ad revenues. 

The company’s updated expectation for third quarter political advertising revenue is approximately $140 million to $145 million, up from the previously announced forecast range of $113 million to $128 million.

Sinclair also raised its expectations for political advertising for the full year.
The company’s updated full-year political revenue expectation is now $442 million to $469 million, up from the previously-disclosed forecast range of $385 million to $410 million.

The increase reflects a hotly contested 2024 election year, with record levels of political ad spending. 

In that climate, Sinclair said its expectations for Local Media segment third quarter core advertising revenue are $285 million to $293 million, with the midpoint down slightly compared to the previously announced forecast range of $288 million to $300 million, due to crowd-out from the increased political advertising. 

The updated expectation represents Local Media segment core advertising growth of 2% to 4% year-over-year. 

In total, the Company now anticipates Local Media advertising revenue during the third quarter to be within a range of $425 million to $438 million, up from the expectation of a range of $401 million to $428 million, as previously provided on August 7, 2024.

The Company’s updated full-year political revenue expectation is now $442 million to $469 million, up from the previously-disclosed forecast range of $385 million to $410 million.

Recent retransmission agreement renewal activity has been in-line with expectations and the Company is reaffirming its previously provided 2-year compounded annualized mid-single digit percent growth rate for net retrans from 2023 through 2025.

The Company will provide financial and operating results for the third quarter 2024 on Wednesday, November 6, 2024.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—In a new blog post, Rick Kaplan, NAB chief legal officer and executive vice president, Legal and Regulatory Affairs contends that the FCC’s proposed rules for disclosing AI content in advertising are misguided and risk “doing more harm than good." 

In July the FCC moved forward with a proposal to implement new requirements to disclose AI-created content in TV and radio ads. The plan drew immediate opposition from both Republican-appointed commissioners, commissioner Nathan Simington and commissioner Brendan Carr. 

In August, the NAB and the Motion Picture Association asked the FCC to extend the time for comments for the proposal, which the FCC partially granted by extending the deadlines to September 19 for comments and October 11 for replies. Those dates make it unlikely that the FCC could enforce the rules prior to the Nov. election. 

In a new Sept. 20 blog post, Kaplan admitted that “artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping the entire political landscape, influencing not only how campaigns are conducted but also how voters access and process information about them. Its rise brings serious risks, including the spread of deepfakes – AI generated images, audio or video that distort reality. These deceptive tactics threaten to undermine public trust in elections and NAB supports government efforts to curtail them.”

But Kaplan noted that those problems are best addressed by Congress, not the FCC. “Unfortunately, due to the FCC’s limited regulatory authority, this rule risks doing more harm than good,” he said. “While the intent of the rule is to improve transparency, it instead risks confusing audiences while driving political ads away from trusted local stations and onto social media and other digital platforms, where misinformation runs rampant.”

Kaplan also contended that “deepfakes and AI generated misleading ads are not prevalent on broadcast TV or radio. These deceptive practices thrive on digital platforms, however, where content can be shared quickly with little recourse. The FCC’s proposal places unnecessary burdens on broadcasters while the government ignores the platforms posing the most acute threat. This approach leaves much to be desired.” 

Kaplan added that the FCC’s proposed disclaimer in broadcast ads is too generic to do much good. “This generic disclaimer doesn’t provide meaningful insight for audiences,” he said. “AI is often used for routine tasks like improving sound or video quality, which has nothing to do with deception. By requiring this blanket disclaimer for all uses of AI, the public would likely be misled into thinking every ad is suspicious, making it harder to identify genuinely misleading content.”

The new rules might also prompt a shift of ads from broadcast to digital media, where the rules don’t exist. AdImpact is projecting that broadcasters will get $5.4 billion in political ads in 2024 out of the total 10.7 billion in political advertising.  

“To truly tackle the issue of deepfakes and AI-driven misinformation, we need a solution that addresses all platforms, not just broadcast TV and radio,” Kaplan concluded. “Congress is the right body to create consistent rules that hold those who create and share misleading content accountable across both digital and broadcast platforms. Instead of the FCC attempting to shoehorn new rules that burden only broadcasters into a legal framework that doesn’t support the effort, Congress can develop fair and effective standards that apply to everyone and benefit the American public.”

Running a political campaign in 2024 is like nothing you’ve experienced before. The rapid rise of streaming services has transformed how voters consume content, making traditional advertising methods less effective.

Campaigns need cutting-edge strategies to capture voter attention and drive engagement—and the waterfall CTV approach offers a powerful solution.

Leveraging precise voter file data and advanced programmatic advertising techniques, this strategy prioritizes the most accurate first-party data and integrates third-party segments progressively.

The result? Highly targeted, customized messaging that resonates deeply with specific voter segments, improving engagement and hitting your campaign’s communications goals.

Prioritizing and Layering Ad Inventory Sources
The waterfall CTV approach transforms political ad buying by prioritizing and layering ad inventory sources, ensuring campaigns reach their audience efficiently and effectively. Unlike traditional ad buying, which disperses resources without a clear hierarchy, this method starts with the most valuable and accurate data sources and cascades down to less prioritized ones only when necessary. This ensures campaigns secure high-quality inventory first, maximizing the impact of every advertising dollar.

First-party data, or voter file data, forms the foundation of this strategy. Starting with first-party data, campaigns can create highly personalized messages that directly address the interests and concerns of specific voter segments. As the campaign progresses, additional layers of third-party data are integrated. These broader data sets help refine targeting further, allowing campaigns to reach wider audiences while maintaining message precision.

The benefits of the waterfall CTV strategy are substantial. This tiered approach enables better targeting precision, so each message reaches the most receptive audience. Additionally, it enhances voter engagement by resonating more deeply with individuals, leading to higher interaction and conversion rates.

In essence, the waterfall CTV approach makes political advertising more strategic and effective. Focusing on data accuracy and progressive integration allows campaigns to deliver relevant, impactful messages that drive voter engagement and campaign success.

Using First Party Data Effectively
Understanding the components of first-party data assets is crucial. The initial step involves assessing what the first-party data includes and how it can be used effectively.

When working with a programmatic platform, political advertisers can leverage tools like LiveRamp or Snowflake for seamless data integration, enabling campaigns to use their data efficiently across different supply sources.

Advertisers can plug their data assets into the platform, and match against signals from sources like Disney or NBC. This process not only helps in understanding the audience but also in matching the data accurately. For example, when a bid request includes a LiveRamp ID, the system can match it back to the client's ID, creating a seamless transactional workflow. This method eliminates the friction typically associated with using first-party data, allowing for demand scaling across CTV with precision.

A recent case study highlights the benefits of integrating advanced technology into political advertising strategies. A political agency, seeking to optimize voter outreach and engagement, partnered with StackAdapt to integrate an extensive Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) dataset. This integration enabled the agency to access two key features: Incremental Reach Forecasting and Incremental Reach Measurement, which are crucial for enhancing campaign planning, activation, and measurement.

Incremental Reach Forecasting allows political advertisers to predict the additional audience they can reach by incorporating CTV into their existing linear TV campaigns. Advertisers can generate accurate forecasts detailing their ads' incremental reach and effectiveness using various campaign parameters such as target audience, geography, and budget.

Incremental Reach Measurement provides real-time analytics on the unique incremental reach achieved through CTV campaigns. This feature offers detailed metrics, including viewer frequency across different formats and demographics, which is essential for optimizing campaign strategies and making data-driven decisions.

The agency was able to achieve several key objectives:

• Optimize Voter Targeting:
  They targeted voters within specific districts, enhancing the relevance and impact of their political ads. Detailed voter reach data allowed for strategic planning and efficient budget allocation.
  
• Enhance Campaign Performance:
  With tools like Incremental Reach Forecasting and Measurement, the agency effectively predicted and measured the reach of its CTV ads. This capability facilitated real-time optimizations, and the agency's campaign messages resonated with the intended audience.
• Streamline Campaign Execution:
  Integrating first-party and third-party data into the platform reduced the complexity of campaign execution. This streamlined process enabled the agency to focus on crafting impactful messages and engaging with voters more effectively.

Political advertisers must focus their budgets effectively, especially when targeting specific voter segments like undecided or independent voters. Casting a wide net often proves inefficient, as it includes both staunch supporters and opponents who are unlikely to change their voting intentions. Instead, the goal is to influence those in the middle, the undecided voters, who can determine the outcome of an election.

Utilizing first-party data tied to independent voters and matching this with signals from CTV allows for more effective campaign targeting. This targeted approach ensures that political messages reach those most likely to be influenced, enhancing the efficiency of the campaign. By concentrating efforts on undecided voters, political advertisers can create a significant impact, ensuring that their messages resonate where it matters most.

Tools like Snowflake integration and proprietary solutions within a programmatic platform enable the seamless use of first-party data. These tools allow political advertisers to match their data with CTV signals from premium providers, ensuring accurate audience targeting.

For publishers, this partnership drives greater value by improving audience understanding and matching capabilities. Buyers can now justify higher CPMs for CTV inventory due to the better audience insights, leading to better ad performance and higher returns on investment.

This dual-sided benefit ensures both advertisers and publishers achieve their objectives, making the case for the effectiveness of the waterfall CTV approach in political campaigns.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif—LG Ad Solutions, a provider of Connected TV (CTV) and cross-screen advertising, has released a new study finding that, regardless of political affiliation, streaming television environments are a “must-have” media channel for political marketers to reach voters this election cycle. Among those who had a preference, 57% of Republicans, 63% of Democrats, and 70% of Independents stated they prefer watching streaming TV compared to broadcast, cable and satellite TV.

The report comes two years after Nielsen reported that streaming had eclipsed linear TV in terms of popularity with U.S. TV households. It discussed the anticipated change back in December in this TV Tech column.

LG Ad Solutions says that this year’s election “marks a historic departure from traditional media strategies, with CTV poised to play a central role in political advertising expenditures.” According to forecasts by AdImpact, CTV ad spend is projected to surge by 24% compared to the 2022 midterms to $1.34 billion, surpassing major digital platforms Google and Facebook ($1.2 billion), and doubling projected spending on network cable, satellite, and radio combined ($671 million.)

“We wanted to understand the affinity for CTV regardless of political affiliation and location across the country and found U.S. voters are streaming more, and are more open to receiving political advertising on CTV,” said Keith Norman, VP Sales, Political Practice, LG Ad Solutions.

“This research underscores a seismic shift towards streaming across all political affiliations and geographic regions in the U.S. Savvy political marketers are adapting their strategies and tactics accordingly by prioritizing CTV to ensure comprehensive reach and engagement with their holistic media plans.”

Other findings:

• Linear TV Viewership is Few(er) and Far Between – Over the past 12 months, viewers across political parties have begun watching less Linear TV, with Democrats watching 27% less, Republicans watching 35% less, and Independents watching 39% less.
• FAST Channels are Gaining Adoption – Regardless of political affiliation, CTV users in the U.S. prefer free, ad-supported streaming television (FAST), with 69% of Democratic, 72% of Republican, and 66% of Independent affiliated viewers stating they prefer the medium to ad-free subscription streaming.
• A Vast Majority of CTV Viewers Multitask – 93% of viewers across parties indicated that they multitask across devices while streaming, creating extended opportunities to engage them on mobile and desktop.

The study also found that 68% of Democrats, 61% of Republicans , and 56% of Independents are cycling through streaming apps, meaning they have added an app and then canceled or paused an app after watching specific content. This shift in viewer behavior emphasizes the importance of having a direct-to-glass strategy, which builds a cohesive thread across CTV and streaming channels ensuring campaigns don’t miss valuable audiences as they hop from app to app.

“Our direct-to-glass strategy enables political marketers to leverage our proprietary advanced ACR (Automatic Content Recognition) data for genre, behavioral, inclusion, exclusion or conquest targeting tactics- while maintaining reach and frequency control- which hasn’t been possible at scale in prior cycles,” added Norman.

In the report, entitled “The Big Shift: Political Edition,” LG Ad Solutions surveyed over 900 U.S. CTV users who affiliate with a political party.

Amid a hotly contested presidential race and major battles for the control of the U.S. Congress, AdImpact has raised its projections for political ad spending in the 2023-2024 election cycle from $10.20 billion to $10.69 billion. That would make this cycle 19% more expensive than the 2019-2020 cycle during the last presidential election and set a new record for political advertising. 

The higher forecast included an extra $255 million for broadcasters, boosting their total to $5.35 billion, AdImpact reported. 

The new ad AdImpact data follows earnings reports from local broadcast station groups for Q1 2024 that saw some companies like Scripps raise their ad spending forecasts. Nexstar reported in Q1 that it had already booked two thirds of its political ad revenue goal but stopped short of raising its estimate. During its Q1 call, Sinclair president and CEO Christopher Ripley said it expected to “see record-breaking political advertising revenues in 2024, which equate to more than $350 million.”

AdImpact reported that through June 30, they had detected “more than 7.4K unique political TV ads, 700 more than 2022 and 2.6K more than 2020 over the same period. We project $5.35B on broadcast, $1.93B on cable, $1.51B on CTV, $1.12B on digital, $381M on radio, $309M on network cable, and $102M on satellite.”

The report also noted that the new projections represented a $244 million increase in their original forecasts for broadcast. “This maintains broadcast’s position as the dominant media type in the political ad spending landscape, accounting for just over 50% of total spending. Cable is expected to experience a slight decrease in share, from 19% to 18%, but will still see a net increase of $30M overall. CTV share will also increase, jumping from 13% to 14% of total cycle spending. The anticipated growth in CTV will likely result from gaining a larger slice of the overall increase in political ad spending rather than from a reallocation of funds away from the other media types.”

More data, including breakdowns by state, are available here. 

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.—As more broadcasters and media companies embrace tools for AI-generated ads, a new survey provides some important insights into how consumers might respond to those ads with a finding that nearly half (49%) stated they do not care whether an ad was made using AI or traditional methods as long as it looks authentic.

The survey from LG Ad Solutions to determine consumer perceptions and preferences towards the use of AI in CTV advertising also found that 49% of consumers are confident they can distinguish ads generated by AI versus traditional methods. 

“It is now clear that consumer appetite is shifting towards innovative technologies that enhance the advertising experience. This interest is already evident in critical growth areas for CTV, such as shoppable TV and discoverability for brands and content. However, it will be important for advertisers to understand where consumer sensitivities lie with it - especially around events like the 2024 U.S. election,” said Tony Marlow, CMO at LG Ad Solutions.

The generative AI industry is experiencing rapid growth, with over 1,400 startups currently active, 55 of which specialize in creating advertising creative. This technological advancement allows brands to develop highly personalized global ad campaigns at the click of a button. As a result, it is crucial for brands to understand how consumers will perceive these innovative ad strategies to maximize their impact and effectiveness, the researchers noted. 

The survey, which connected with over 500 U.S. CTV owners, also revealed:

• Consumers think personalization is performing: 74% of respondents stated they have noticed advertisements they believe are specifically tailored to them. And while this might serve as a clear indicator that personalized advertising is generally recognized by the public, consumers aged 55 and older state they don’t report noticing these types of ads as much – signaling a generational divide. 
• AI = innovation when it comes to brand perception: 38% of consumers agree that brands using generated AI ads enhance their perception of the brand’s innovation, with more than half (51%) of consumers ages 35-54 aligning with the statement. Separately, 31% are neutral about the use of AI in advertisements, stating it doesn’t sway their opinion. 
• But regulation is a real concern: Despite 30% of consumers stating they would like ads more if they were personalized with AI, 80% believe there should be regulations on the use of AI in specific contexts like political advertising for the upcoming 2024 election. 

As it released the survey, LG Ad Solutions reported that it leverages AI technology to understand consumer behaviors across LGE global platforms, ensuring relevant content discovery and contextually relevant alignment of ads. It also enables dynamic creative swaps based on real-time audience location, weather, and household attributes, ensuring ads are highly relevant and effective. In the future, LG Ad Solutions will have AI-driven reporting that will allow advertisers to effortlessly access detailed insights and receive unique reports on demand. 

“Brands have traditionally created singular global campaigns to maximize scale and reach, but now with AI, they can deliver highly personalized global campaigns using insights. For example one brand at LG Ads used local weather conditions to determine the most relevant product to advertise, without needing separate campaigns and increased resources,” said Marlow. “The sky's the limit with AI, and we are excited to see what opportunities it opens for CTV advertising.”

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Federal Communications Commission has announced that it has launched a proceeding to update its rules relating to the Low Power Television Service, which includes Class A television, low power television (LPTV), and TV translator stations.

As previously reported the FCC announced in May its intention to initiate a proceeding to update the rules and reported that it would consider the matter at its June 6 open meeting. That item was, however, removed from the agenda at the last minute. 

In the new announcement, the FCC said that the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking adopted on June 6 invites comment on whether LPTV stations affiliated with a top-four TV network should be required to comply with online public inspection file requirements that are similar to those that apply to full power and Class A TV stations as well as AM and FM stations.  

The item also proposes to require that all LPTV stations maintain records for public inspection and to update the list of political programming and political file rules applicable to LPTV stations.

The Notice also proposes revisions to other rules and policies affecting Class A, LPTV, and TV translator stations, including clarifying the maximum distance that a station may move under the minor change rule and how distance is calculated for displaced stations.  

It also proposes requiring stations to specify a community of license that is located within their contour; defining minimum operating and video program requirements for LPTV stations; prohibiting operations above TV channel 36; clarifying and amending the Commission’s displacement rules for LPTV and TV translator stations; and proposing other technical and non-substantive rule changes.

The FCC has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that would revise rules governing low power TV stations (LPTV) in a number of areas, including online public file requirements, and rules governing operations of Class A television (i.e. stations that operate at low power, like LPTV/TV translator stations, but are afforded primary interference protection status), LPTV, and TV translator stations.

The FCC also announced that it will vote on the NPRM, which would significantly increase the rules governing LPTV stations, at the June Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, June 6, 2024. 

In announcing that it was seeking public comment on the NPRM, the FCC noted that “the Commission created the LPTV Service in 1982 to bring local television service to viewers “otherwise unserved or underserved” by existing full power stations. Today, the LPTV Service is an established component of the nation’s television system, delivering free over-the-air TV service, including locally produced programming, to millions of viewers. The NPRM proposes changes to our rules and policies to ensure it continues to flourish and serve the public interest.”

More specifically the NPRM would seek comment on whether to require top-four network affiliated LPTV stations to comply with the same online public file (OPIF) requirements applicable to full power and Class A television stations, or alternatively whether OPIF requirements should be applied to LPTV stations that are among the top-four TV stations in each market based on the Nielsen ratings.

It also proposes to adopt procedures for LPTV stations to establish an OPIF, and it proposes to make public inspection and political broadcasting rules applicable to all LPTV stations.

In addition the NPRM proposes a number of technical and operational amendments to the FCC’s current rules relating to translators and other issues. 

Those technical and operational amendments would include a proposal to amend the method for calculating the maximum distance that a displaced or channel sharing station may move under the FCC displacement rule and clarify the maximum distance that Class A and LPTV/TV translator stations may move under our minor modification rule.

It would also require that Class A and LPTV/TV translator stations “specify a community of license within their station’s contour”; adopt minimum operating and defined minimum video program requirements for LPTV stations; require stations in the LPTV Service seek authority to change designation and maintain a call sign consistent with their class of service; specify requirements pertaining to emissions masks; prohibit LPTV/TV translator station operations above TV channel 36; and clarify the circumstances in which LPTV/TV translators stations are eligible for displacement.

The FCC noted that NPRM was being released as part of a “permit-but-disclose” proceeding. Any presentations or views on the subject expressed to the Commission or its staff, including by email, must be filed in MB Docket Nos. 24-147 and 24-148, which may be accessed via the Electronic Comment Filing System (https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/). 

The full NPRM can be found here. 

IRVING, TEXAS—Nexstar reported record first quarter net revenue of $1.28 billion, up 2.1%, thanks to higher distribution revenue. But advertising revenue at the nation’s largest station group declined slightly despite $39 million in political advertising during Q1.

Approximately 59% of Nexstar’s first quarter revenue was derived from distribution revenue, which hit a record high of $761 million for the company, increasing $33 million, or 4.5%, over the comparable prior year quarter. 

Despite ongoing pay TV sub losses, Nexstar said distribution revenue growth was primarily due to distribution contract renewals in 2023, annual rate escalators, and the return of one of its partner stations to one MVPD in January. Distribution revenue includes retransmission revenue, carriage fees, affiliation fees, and spectrum leasing revenue.

Meanwhile first quarter advertising revenue of $512 million decreased $5 million, or 1.0%, compared to the prior year quarter reflecting a $36 million year-over-year reduction in core and digital advertising revenue due to ongoing advertising market softness. This was offset, in part, by a $31 million year-over-year increase in election-year political advertising to $39 million. Advertising revenue includes core television advertising, digital advertising and political advertising revenue.

First quarter net income of $167 million increased $79 million, or 89.8%, compared to the prior year quarter, reflecting increased revenue, lower operating expenses driven by reduced amortization of broadcast rights at The CW, and a $40 million gain on the sale of our ownership interest in BMI. Net Income margin increased to 13.0% from 7.0% in the comparable prior year period.

“Nexstar is off to a strong start in 2024, delivering the highest first quarter net revenues in the Company’s history and once again outpacing consensus expectations for Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Free Cash Flow,” Perry Sook, founder, chairman and CEO of Nexstar in a statement. “As the industry’s largest local broadcaster with the most-watched broadcast television programming, Nexstar’s value to our distribution and advertising partners is demonstrated by our continued strong financial performance, including all-time quarterly high distribution revenue. We continue to make progress at The CW, reducing operating losses by $50 million year-over-year and kicking off the 2023/2024 broadcast season by delivering two sequential quarters of primetime audience improvement. Looking ahead, we remain confident that Nexstar will deliver another strong year of financial results and expect to build momentum through 2024, given the anticipated record-level of political spending this presidential election cycle.”

SAN FRANCISCO—Samba TV has unveiled a new solution that it says will help political advertisers better reach shifting voting audiences at the regional, state, and national level throughout the 2024 political season. 

Samba TV’s Real Time Political Audiences facilitates the next day activation of digital campaigns to reach key voter groups with time-sensitive political messaging. Using the solution advertisers can build customized political ad exposure segments and launch their targeted campaign the next day, the quickest turnaround in the industry, Samba said. 

Yahoo and TelevisaUnivision, two early adopters of the new solution, have integrated Samba TV’s innovative near-real time political audience segments to better empower political advertisers on their platforms.

“In one of the most consequential elections in history, coupled with a deeply fragmented media landscape, marketers are facing one of the most challenging political seasons to reach voters,” said Samba TV co-founder and CEO Ashwin Navin. “What worked in the past no longer applies. The strategy of relentlessly hitting the same audience with political ads on traditional TV is outdated. In today's landscape, candidates must embrace a holistic approach that integrates traditional TV with real-time targeting across streaming and digital platforms to reach voters who are consuming media in entirely new ways. This tactic is vital for political advertisers seeking a competitive advantage in a pivotal election where the stakes are high for control of the White House, Congress, and regional seats of power."

“This election cycle will be more challenging than ever to reach voters,” added national media research chief innovation officer Adam Wise at Samba. “As we are well underway with the presidential campaigns, it is crucial to integrate a comprehensive understanding of your audience into your targeting strategy, merging trusted first-party sources such as Samba TV with other campaign inputs.”

In a statement explaining their early adoption of the product, TelevisaUnivision senior vice president of product management Brian Lin said that “Hispanics are one of the biggest and most influential voter groups in the U.S. As political advertisers look to further engage with our audience, we look forward to partnering with Samba TV to enable a more effective way to inform Spanish-speaking voters across the country.”

“As we’re heading into the heat of election season, campaigns need to reach relevant voters with their message at the right cadence,” said Yahoo senior vice president of product strategy and management Adam Roodman. “With Samba TV’s Real Time Political Audiences, political advertisers leveraging Yahoo DSP are able to optimize audience reach while controlling frequency to maximize results.”

RESTON, VA—pureIntegration, a provider of IT and Ad Tech consultancy and software solutions has launched “ContentCheck,” a new SaaS offering that the company says automates the classification and compliance review process for political video advertising content. Available now, ContentCheck combines pureIntegration’s Ad Tech industry expertise and AI technologies to automate the political ad content review process to analyze and report on each piece of content’s compliance with federal, state, local, and provider-specific standards and regulations. 

Currently, media companies have to manually review each political ad to classify and cross-check against compliance regulations, which can create staffing, workflow, and accuracy challenges while slowing down the order-to-revenue process. ContentCheck, operating on pureIntegration’s established Bullseye platform, uses AI-based technologies, including Computer Vision, Speech Recognition, Natural Language Processing, and Machine Learning to augment human insight to streamline workflows.

“As a trusted partner to the media and advertising industries for nearly two decades, our focus and commitment have remained steadfast in helping our customers to modernize their workflows, capitalize on efficiencies, and position their organizations for scalable growth,” commented Clayton LiaBraaten, Chief Commercial Officer for pureIntegration. “ContentCheck is a direct result of our forward-thinking commitment and is well-positioned to deliver incredible value to media companies, especially with the projected double-digit increase in political ad spending this year. Some of our customers using ContentCheck in beta have shared how it has reduced the bottleneck in their workflow, allowing their ad sales teams to generate new revenue opportunities while minimizing the enterprise’s risk of non-compliance.”

In addition to providing a more streamlined review and workflow through automation, ContentCheck also addresses resourcing, workflow and headcount limitations. As a fully managed SaaS solution running 24/7, pureintegration says ContentCheck provides near-constant review and elasticity to quickly expand capacity without necessitating a surge in hiring or additional training. 

This scalable workflow, the company claims, allows experts to make smarter and more informed decisions more quickly and effectively. The SaaS model ensures low operational overhead while delivering adaptability and highly customized configurations, making ContentCheck flexible for the broader media ecosystem, from MVPDs and content providers to advertising agencies and creators, it said.

ALEXANDRIA, Va.—The ad intelligence company AdImpact has launched a new political media buying software solution, Potomac, which the company is billing as a first of its kind centralized platform for planning, buying, revising, and reconciling political media campaigns.

With its advanced features and intuitive interface, AdImpact said that Potomac simplifies the buying process, saving users more than half their manual work time.

Potomac Potomac supports local linear broadcast and cable, national cable, and network TV. By the end of the year, the company also plans to introduce additional features, including a financial dashboard, digital buying, and the option for automatic makegoods.

“What sets Potomac apart is its fully automated rate request and avail upload system. Users can store and upload files seamlessly while staying on top of your campaign's progress,” said Harvey Kent, strategic advisor to AdImpact. “This cutting-edge software fills a longstanding gap in the market and finally provides a comprehensive efficiency driven solution for political media buyers.”

Potomac allows users to establish goals, set up campaigns, allocate resources, and deliver to broadcasters with just five clicks. Potomac simplifies and expedites buying and planning in local broadcast via automation for politics-specialized workflow, allowing users to work more effectively and efficiently. With Potomac's cloud-based software, users can easily see real-time information about orders, traffic, payments, and more. 

"Potomac will revolutionize political media buying by equipping those running campaigns to operate and compete on a landscape that has become increasingly fast-paced and dynamic. With its user-centric design and comprehensive features, our innovative software is poised to consolidate workflows, increase efficiency, and most importantly – boost impact,” said Nora Hall, product lead on Potomac for AdImpact. “We are excited to introduce Potomac as a new go-to solution designed to tackle the complexities of political media buying and deliver unparalleled success ahead of this monumental political cycle."

NEW YORK—With the 2024 U.S. election cycle projected to produce over $10 billion in spending, Proximic by Comscore has launched a new suite of audience segments that reach users based on exposure to specific political campaigns and local TV exposure. The new segments are initially available exclusively to clients of global digital media-buying platform, The Trade Desk.

Proximic, which is a division of Comscore and a leading provider of audience and content targeting solutions for programmatic activation, said the new segments allow marketers to reach political audiences in a privacy-centric way, using Comscore's unique, customizable political TV ad exposure segments. Available at the presidential, senate, house and gubernatorial level, Proximic by Comscore is designed to provide marketers with precise and scalable ways to reach their intended audiences.

"As more political advertisers look for ways for greater reach with right audiences, digital advertising becomes a critically important component to media campaigns. The open internet provides opportunities for political advertisers to apply more data to better understand what messages resonate with audiences," said Kevin Fisher, general manager, business development, The Trade Desk. "In working with Proximic by Comscore, we're presenting an innovative and privacy-centric offering to marketers across connected TV."

"With the 2024 election season on the horizon and record-breaking spending anticipated, Proximic is excited to integrate our Political Ad Exposure segments into The Trade Desk to empower advertisers to reach political audiences in a privacy-centric manner," said Rachel Gantz, managing director of Proximic by Comscore. "Media buyers will now have the ability to extend reach and drive incrementality over linear, to effectively compete in this hyper-competitive race."

The political TV ad exposure custom segments are available as ID-based audiences and ID-free contextual Predictive Audiences.

Primary use cases include:

• Reach extension: Marketers can suppress viewers of a candidate's linear TV ads to achieve digital and CTV incrementality.
• Amplify frequency: Marketers can reach viewers of a candidate's linear TV ads to increase or reduce frequency across other channels.
• Increase share of voice: Marketers can target audiences who have been exposed to competitor candidates' ads, to increase their own share of voice.
• The launch of Proximic by Comscore's political local TV ad exposure segments adds to Proximic's existing offering of dynamic political advertising capabilities..

CHANTILLY, Va.—BIA Advisory Services has issued new forecasts for the local broadcast TV industry in 2024 that predict the sector will generate $23.8 billion in advertising revenue, with $21.7 billion in over-the-air (OTA) revenue and $2.1 billion in digital television. 

The $23.8 billion estimate would be an 11% increase over 2023 for the television industry. 

Previewing the new forecast in an address at the TVB Forward Conference, Tom Buono, founder and chief executive officer of BIA, explained the drivers behind the forecast include heavy political advertising spending along with increased spending in key television verticals, including legal and auto. 

Buono also examined local televisions’ share of the complete advertising wallet.

“We all expect a large number for local television ad spending in 2024, but it’s not only political that the industry can look to for growth,” said Buono. “Our new Share of Wallet (SoW) Performance Benchmarking Analysis reveals legal and automobile advertising will be up next year, too, providing solid opportunities for the industry. Beyond spending, we can see from this analysis how well television is performing across business verticals as compared to other media and in relation to the many advertising spend opportunities within a local market. Looking at ad spend this way is key to helping television continue to play to its strengths and find ways to take share from other media and move against threats.”

For automobile advertising, BIA’s 2024 forecast shows that TV OTA is expected to increase to $192.6 million in 2024, which will be the largest year-to-year increase since 2019. Another strong vertical for television in BIA’s SoW Performance Benchmarking analysis is legal services. BIA estimates legal spending will total $8.6 billion in 2024. When looking at ad share across all traditional media, TV OTA will be the only channel to grow for legal advertising in 2024.

Buono also examined ad spend in the connected TV and over-the-top (CTV/OTT) category compared to OTA and digital. While smaller in dollars spent, CTV/OTT is the fastest growing platform in the past five years, with +30.4% CAGR (2020 to 2024). However, TV OTA has more than four times the ad spend, mainly driven by political, than the other two channels, he reported. 

“After a few challenging years related to the pandemic, followed by supply chain and economic issues, we are forecasting significant increases in 2024 for local TV advertising,” said Buono. “Continuous examination and foresight will be key to maintaining a strong position.”

BIA also announced that to help television executives stay on top in a changing advertising marketplace, BIA is ready to perform a Share of Wallet (Sow): Performance Benchmarking Analysis that is customized to a broadcast group. More information is available at customservice@bia.com. 

BALTIMORE, Md.—As part of Sinclair's ongoing effort to revamp and reorganize the operations in the wake of the bankruptcy of its regional sports networks, Sinclair's CEO has told analysts that it plans to continue to spend heavily on technologies to improve operations and that it is aggressively pushing forward with NextGen TV/ATSC 3.0 launches. 

CEO Chris Ripley made the comments during a Q2 2023 earnings call with analysts that saw the company report a 27% decline in revenue, a 16% drop in ad revenue and only $92 million in net income in the first half of 2023.  Next income in the first half of 2022 was $2.576 billion. 

In terms of NextGen TV, Sinclair said it has already launched 3.0 broadcasts in 41 markets covering 69% the TV homes in its broadcast footprint and that it expects to increase that to 74% by the end of 2023 when stations in more than half of its 86 markets will be offering NextGen TV. 

Sinclair’s other tech spending plans include earmarking $75 million this year for cloud technologies, automation and ad sales platforms, data distribution, yield management and a customer data platform, of which about $65 million will be spent in 2023. 

During the Q2 2023 earnings call, Sinclair CEO Chris Riply said “we remain firmly committed to the local media industry, which is our legacy and core business. However, increased competition from technology companies, streaming content providers and the networks as well as continued regulatory constraints, means that we must transform to remain relevant and to grow impressions and revenue share.”

As part of that transformation, Ripley said “we must also embrace technology, which is why we're earmarking $75 million this year for cloud technologies, automation and ad sales platforms, data distribution, yield management and a customer data platform. Due to a combination of timing and permanent cost savings, we now anticipate spending approximately $65 million on these efforts during 2023.”

“Over the next 12 months, we intend to allocate capital to marketing services, multi-platform content community interactivity, next-gen broadcast and cloud technologies,” Ripley said. “Our next-gen broadcast plans remain a key focal point of this transformation. The migration [to NextGen TV]....and distributed data products will allow our industry to unlock the value of our significant spectrum holdings through new revenue and cash flow streams. And despite net leverage increasing this year, in part due to our investment in broadcast and net retrans renewal timing, we believe the changes and investments we are making will drive broadcast future returns and free cash flow leading to reduced debt over the coming years. 

"Work continues on our next-gen broadcast core network and platform.," he continued. "We currently expect to go live in the first quarter of next year. This network will create an interconnected platform to provide commercial services and solutions for national data distribution and represents what we believe to be the next step in the evolution of the broadcasting industry.”

Ripley said that Sinclair is now “live with NextGen broadcast in 41 markets, including recent launches in South Bend and Reno, which represent approximately 69% of the TV households in our licensed footprint. By year-end, Sinclair will have deployed NextGen in over half of our 86 markets covering 74% of our covered population.”

“The industry has also committed to launching an advanced emergency formation pilot project to disseminate crucial information with enhanced broadcast features,” he said. “We currently expect NextGen revenues to begin in 2024 as the technology grows towards BIA's midpoint forecast of $10 billion in industry revenues by 2030.

While advertising revenue declined this year versus the highly contested 2022 election cycle,  Rob Weisbord, chief operating officer and president of local media, provided "an early preview of what we believe will be a strong 2024 for political advertising...Sinclair stations in 23 of the 34 states with Senate races in 2024, 7 of the 11 states with [races for state governors]...and 10 of 12 presidential swing states, as defined by a close 2020 presidential race in those states."

"This spending is also heating up with cannabis, immigration, abortion, gun control education and sports gambling all expected to drive incremental political spend over the next 18 months," he added. "We have already booked $9 million in political revenue during the first half of 2023 including $5.5 million during the second quarter, which is almost 10% above our political revenues booked during the second quarter of 2021. Early fundraising totals and political advertising that we are already seeing suggest another record year for overall political advertising in 2024."

WASHINGTON, D.C.—As political parties and media buyers gear up for the 2024 presidential race, a new study from Basis Technologies provides some insights from the 2022 Midterms that indicate more political spending is likely to shift to connected TVs (CTV) advertising in 2024. 

Basis Technologies, leading provider of cloud-based workflow automation and business intelligence software for marketing and advertising, found that programmatic ad impressions and spend on CTV devices increased by more than 60% in 2022. 

“Digital advertising is a tried-and-true core element for successful political campaigns, as illustrated by the rapid adoption of newer digital channels like CTV we’ve seen over recent election cycles,” said Grace Briscoe, senior vice president of candidates and causes, Basis Technologies. “Winning political playbooks need a combination of speed, scale, precision, engagement and measurability. Programmatic advertising and digital video combine important elements needed for both persuasion and turning out the vote.”

The new data was compiled from more than 1000 advertisers for state, local and national races managing digital ad buying via Basis Technologies’ software platform. These political and advocacy advertisers encompassed more than $130 million spent across display, video, native, search and social media.

Key findings from the report include: 

• The overwhelming favorite format for digital advertising was video (68%) based on spending share and CTV ads were a key reason why.  
• Automated buying through demand-side platforms (DSPs), though very popular in 2020 campaigns with 63% share of budgets, dipped to 52% in 2022. Direct buying surged to 35% share.
• For programmatic media, there was a 40% rise in average CPMs between January and November 2022; video ad CPMs were more steady throughout the year, only deviating 5-10% from the average in any given month.
• As in 2018 and 2020, the top three direct sellers were YouTube, Facebook, and Hulu (with some change in rank between the three every election cycle). New to the top 15 (that weren’t on the list in 2020) were VideoAmp, Katz Media Group, LG Ads, Nexstar Media Group and NBC Universal.
• Campaigns spent 50% of digital ad budgets in the last 30 days before Election Day, and 25% in the last 10 days. This is a consistent pattern for every election cycle.
• Michigan garnered the most programmatic ad impressions served through Basis, followed by Wisconsin and California.

 The complete report is available here.  

NEW YORK—A new report that studied more than 200 political ad campaigns in the first half of 2022 concludes that when it comes to achieving the best results from TV, politicians should spend 10-20% on campaign ads on streaming and the rest on traditional TV. 

The report from Effectv is based on data insights collected from nearly 20 million impressions and iterates that political advertisers who are still relying solely on TV— or, in particular, only news—are likely to be missing out on reaching voters. Advertisers will see the most success, according to the research, by optimizing their media plans across both TV and streaming to achieve the greatest reach.

These insights, spanning over 200 political advertising campaigns in the first half of 2022 during the primaries, uncover a formula that strikes a balance between TV and streaming advertising for maximized reach: Effectv recommends that political advertisers in particular allocate around 10-20% of their TV investment to ad-supported streaming with the remaining investment to traditional TV. While Effectv suggests that general advertisers attribute 20-30% of their total video investment to streaming, the recommendation is slightly lower when reaching likely voters, who, according to Comcast’s aggregated viewership data, are likely to spend more time with traditional TV.

“With midterms around the corner, advertisers need to pinpoint where they can optimize their budgets – across all mediums – and divide funding accordingly,” said Dan Sinagoga, Head of Political Sales at Effectv. “Balance is needed now more than ever, with political advertising spend set to hit a record of $9 billion this season, so it’s critical that advertisers plan and optimize campaigns holistically across all screens to reach audiences regardless of how they are consuming TV content.”

According to the study, in the 2022 primaries, 9% of frequent voters were reached through streaming only, 10% through TV and streaming combined, and 81% through TV only—illustrating traditional TV continues to be the foundation for political advertisers to reach voters. The research showed that by leaning into linear TV, advertisers can capture much of their desired audiences—but infusing streaming into a TV-centric media plan can exponentially extend reach: revealing that 51% of frequent voter households reached by streaming were incremental to traditional TV and would not have been reached by TV alone.

Effectv’s research illuminates the value of streaming to reach those in “light news viewing” households, finding that streaming impressions were 1.7x more likely to be seen within “light news viewing” households compared to traditional TV (18% versus 11%).

“TV viewership is changing before our eyes, and political advertisers need to adjust to that new reality,” added Sinagoga. “Relying on ‘old standbys’ like local news is not enough anymore. Streaming is a critical component to political advertising, and we’re seeing greater success among advertisers who take a multiscreen approach, using streaming as a strong complement to linear TV.”

The research concludes that traditional TV and streaming work better together to deliver audiences, Effectv said. Although TV continues to be foundational to media plans, streaming is becoming an increasingly critical element in political advertising, providing valuable incremental audiences and extending reach to households of likely voters, the researcher added.

SAN FRANCISCO—As more viewers cut the cord and abandon traditional pay-TV subscriptions, this phenomenon is having an impact on how political candidates get their message out. 

According to a new survey from Samba TV and HarrisX of more than 2,300 U.S. adults registered to vote in November in 10 key battleground states and nationally, streaming content has overtaken traditional television as the medium of choice for voters in both parties. With one month before the November elections, voters report being nearly twice as likely to stream content as having a monthly cable subscription, with a majority of U.S. voters in both parties no longer having traditional linear TV subscriptions in the home, the companies said.     

“The story this election season is the same whether you are looking nationally or at the key battleground states,” said Ashwin Navin, Co-Founder and CEO of Samba TV. “Voters have left traditional linear television in droves. Only 39% of independent swing voters in battleground states have traditional TV. With so many elections now being determined by the slimmest of margins, campaigns need to dramatically rethink how they reach voters in the closing weeks to ensure they are not just saturating the same shrinking number of households with ads while leaving the vast majority of the electorate under-reached.”   

In the 2020 battleground state of Arizona, a Samba TV analysis of all linear television ads run in the final 30 days of the competitive Senate race found 90% of the ads reached just the same 55% of Arizona households, highlighting the critical need for campaigns to shift strategies to reach voters where they now spend most of their time. 

“The data points clearly that the future king of political ad spending will be streaming. Voter eyeballs are more likely to be present by a factor of almost two to one,” said Dritan Nesho, Founder and CEO of HarrisX.

Political campaigns have been slow to adapt to this trend however. According to AdImpact, a record $9.7 billion will be spent on political advertising by the end of the 2022 election cycle with broadcast TV to get the bulk ($4.98 billion, representing 51.45%), followed by cable ($1.54 billion, 15.93%), then connected TV and digital (both at $1.44 billion, 14.92%) and $0.27 billion (2.77%) on radio. 

The survey found that just just 49% of U.S. registered voters have traditional TV and that one in four of those who do still have traditional TV plan to cancel in the next 6 months. Independents, the key swing voter block, are the least likely to have traditional TV, with only 4 in 10 (42%) having it today and in key battleground states, only 39% of independents have traditional TV.

In addition more than 80% of registered voters nationally and in key battleground states stream. Just 55% of those nationally and 56% of those in key battleground states who definitely plan to vote have a traditional TV subscription and in battleground states Democrats are much more likely to stream video on their mobile phones (72% compared to 59% of Republicans).

Not surprisingly, Millennial and Gen Z voters are even harder to reach with these age groups more than twice as likely to stream than to have a traditional linear subscription today—this gap is even wider for younger voters in battleground states. 

Facebook remains the most used platform by registered voters nationally but has less of an impact in the key battleground states. Democrat voters are significantly more likely to use TikTok than Republicans nationally with 37% of Democratic voters using it weekly compared to just 27% of Republican voters. 

This survey was conducted online within the United States from Aug. 29-Sept. 1 among 2,300 adults who identified as registered voters by HarrisX . Battleground states listed include PA, NV, WI, GA, AZ, NH, NC, OH, FL and CO.  

ALEXANDRIA, Va.—--AdImpact has increased its forecasts for political ad spending in the 2022 midterms to nearly $10 billion ($9.7 billion) in a new report that also shows large amounts of political ad dollars are shifting to connected TVs.  

Traditionally political ad spending has been higher in presidential elections. So far, however, the 2022 cycle has been outpacing the 2020 cycle and is on track to become the most expensive American election in history, the researchers said. 

Those projections come on the heels of Q2 2022 earnings reports where Nexstar, Sinclair, Scripps and others reporting record political ad sales. 

“We are fewer than 100 days out from the general election and spending is on pace to reach historic heights,” the AdImpact report said. “Coming on the heels of the most expensive cycle on record [2020], 2022 is poised to be the second consecutive cycle to surpass the $9B threshold. To date, we have already seen a record $4.88B placed for this political cycle.” 

“An increasingly polarized electorate and easily accessible online fundraising tools have been major factors propelling this surge in spending,” the report stated. “With massive increases in political expenditures coming year after year, a new norm has been established in the world of political advertising. It no longer takes a presidential ticket at the top of the ballot to push a cycle near the $10B threshold.” 

The report also highlighted a notable shift in spending to connected TVs, with about $300 million already spent in connected TV ads, or about 13% of the total spent so far.  

By the end of this election cycle, AdImpact is estimating that about $1.44 billion will be spent on connected TV ads (14.92% of the $9.7 billion total), $1.54 billion on cable (15.93%), $1.44 billion (14.92%) on digital, $0.27 billion (2.77%) on radio and $4.98 billion (51.45%) on broadcast TV (51.45%). 

AdImpact also noted that $3.96 billion was spent in the entire 2018 midterms and that spending in 2022 has already surpassed that, with $4.88 billion spent.  

The report projects that Senate spending will hit $2.37 billion and political spending for House races will hit $1.88 billion.

STAMFORD, Conn.—Spectrum News is reporting that politics and primary elections boosted the audiences of its local cable news channels and digital platforms in June 2022 to more than 2.4 million daily viewing households throughout its 12-state footprint.

In Spectrum News’ Nielsen-rated markets, Spectrum News 1 in Charlotte recorded a 16.4% month-over-month increase in viewership, outpacing the local broadcast networks, CNN, Fox News and MSNBC. 

Columbus (12.5%) and Cleveland (12.1%) also recorded month-over-month ratings growth, with higher increases in viewership than local broadcast stations ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC, Spectrum News reported. 

The audience data comes at a time when broadcasters and news outlets are expecting record political advertising and various outlets are fighting to get a larger share of the political ad pie.  

 Other viewership highlights for June include:

• On June 28, Spectrum News NY1’s live Primary Election Night coverage from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. EST recorded significant increases in Nielsen viewership, more than 95% above the previous 30-day average. During the four-hour live coverage, NY1 ranked higher in viewership than ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC, as well as CNN and Fox News. 
• In New York State, Spectrum News’ live Republican Gubernatorial Primary debate between Andrew Giuliani, Harry Wilson, Rep. Lee Zeldin, and Rob Astorino on June 20 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. EST, recorded viewership increases for Spectrum News 1 Upstate New York networks (22%) and Spectrum News NY1 (14%) as compared to the previous 30-day averages.  
• In Los Angeles, Spectrum News 1’s live California Primary Election Night coverage on June 7 from 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. PST, drove an increase in viewership of 11%. During the live coverage, Spectrum News 1 recorded higher viewership than local broadcast stations ABC, CBS, CW and FOX, as well as CNN, Fox News and MSNBC.
• In Wisconsin, Spectrum News 1’s full-day viewership on June 15 during inclement weather recorded an increase of 39% above the average, and was more than eight times higher than The Weather Channel. The Spectrum News App in Wisconsin recorded the most traffic to the app since launch, with more than 2,500 users visiting that day. 
• On June 9, Spectrum News’ network-wide live coverage of the U.S. House Select Committee’s January 6th attack hearings from 8 p.m. to 9:55 p.m. EST recorded an average increase in viewership of 19% across all markets, averaging higher viewership than CBS, FOX, NBC and CNN.    
• On June 24, Spectrum News’ network-wide live coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade from 10:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. EST averaged 77% more viewership across Spectrum News’ 12-state footprint than ABC, Fox, and NBC, as well as CNN and MSNBC. 

NEW YORK—In the run-up to the midterm elections, a new TVB study on media usage by voters in battleground states found that TV has the largest reach (76%), with broadcast leading the way at 74%. 

TV’s status as having the largest reach was true for all breakouts, including by individual state, party affiliation and demographics (A18-34, A35+, men, women, African Americans and Hispanics), the TVB reported. 

The study also found that at 74%, TV is key for motivating viewers to get out and vote, with radio coming in a very distant second (23%) followed by social media, an ad in the mail and local newspapers, all with 21%. 

The purpose of the TVB’s 2022 political media usage studies was to gain an understanding of media usage across traditional and digital platforms within states expected to be politically competitive in 2022.

TVB commissioned Dynata to conduct the study. The base sample included over 13,000 registered voters ages 18+ in eight states: Arizona (1,000), Florida (2,000), Georgia (2,000), Michigan (2,000), Nevada (1,000), North Carolina (2,000), Pennsylvania (2,000) and Wisconsin (1,000). 

To qualify, each respondent had to be a registered voter and had been exposed to any of over 20 media platforms (traditional or digital) in the prior 24-hour period. An equal number of respondents reported each day to ensure equal weighting, and demographic profiles were captured each day (age, sex, ethnicity and political identification).

The study also found that the primary source of news is broadcast television, but the #2 and #3 choices varied by demographic.

Local TV news (79%) is the most trusted among media platforms. Local TV news websites/apps (67%) are the most trusted among digital platforms. Social media, at 42%, is the least trusted.

Social media and cable news were the top picks for “fake news,” across all breakouts, including by individual state, party affiliation and demographics (A18-34, A35+, A50+, men, women, African Americans and Hispanics).

More information on the study can be found here. 

TVB also released their 2022 American Conversation Study which offered a number of key insights into voters’ perceptions ahead of the midterms. Highlights included:

• 49% of respondents are talking about politics daily. That has grown +44% since 2015 (34%).
• 62% of respondents said they are very likely to vote in the upcoming November 2022 mid-term elections.
• About half of survey respondents said the economy was the #1 issue that would get them to vote in the mid-term elections.
• Media affects conversations; TV is the key to sparking and supporting American conversations about news of the day, local/regional news, and politics. 
• Television affects 56% of political conversations, which is significantly more than online content, social media, print, and radio.
• Local broadcast TV news is the primary source of news. Respondents found it to be the most shareworthy, believable, and trustworthy news source.
• Respondents found social media to be the least believable and least trustworthy news source and also perceive “fake news” to be most prevalent on it.

 More information on this TVB study can be found here.   

CINCINNATI – A group of local broadcasters led by The E.W. Scripps Company has launched a new effort to attract and better serve political advertisers on connected TV platforms. 

The Scripps Political CTV Consortium is being launched in what promises to be a record election-spending year, the broadcasters said.

Led by Scripps, the effort also involves Cox Media Group, Capitol Broadcasting Company, Graham Media Group and other broadcasters.

Samantha Osborne has been named senior director of national sales for the Scripps Political CTV Consortium in Washington, D.C.

“Collectively, we have a wall of inventory, and we’ve found a way to work together to make it easy for agencies to access that,” said Samantha Osborne, senior director of national sales for the Scripps Political CTV Consortium in Washington, D.C. “They can reach a high percentage of voters while making their own decisions but without having to work through numerous sales reps from different organizations. With the broadcasters we’ve assembled, we have billions of monthly premium connected TV impressions available for political advertisers.”

Experts project roughly $9 billion in spending in 2022, matching the presidential cycle of 2020, with as much as $1.8 billion of that expected to go to internet-delivered television platforms, or CTV, the group said. 

In 10 states alone – Florida, California, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Texas, North Carolina, Ohio, Wisconsin and Michigan – $3.9 billion is projected to be spent on political advertising, the group said. 

The Scripps Political CTV Consortium allows agencies to work with one representative to reach multiple publishers who have premium, guaranteed owned-and-operated inventory. 

Osborne said Scripps is exclusively working with Magnite, the world’s largest independent omnichannel sell-side advertising platform, to make CTV inventory available to agencies and programmatic buyers.

“Magnite is excited to be powering the technology for the Scripps Political CTV Consortium,” said Mike Laband, senior vice president of CTV Platform for Magnite. “Working closely with Scripps and the consortium media owners, we are providing the market with a unique, scaled offering for political CTV ad investment.”

The broadcasters will be pitching the idea that local news is where voters go to be informed during election seasons and that objective local broadcast journalism provides access to audiences that political advertisers are trying to reach.

“There are times when it makes sense to work together to produce a new and innovative product for the best interest of customers,” said John Conway, vice president of WRAL Digital for Capitol Broadcasting. “This is one of those times when we can provide industry-leading service by collaborating.”

NEW YORK—Xandr, a division of AT&T, has launche a new platform targeting political advertising for the 2022 U.S. midterm elections. The offering combines its Invest DSP, Monetize SSP and Xandr Curate platforms in all 50 states and includes multiple tools for advertisers and publishers to buy and sell political advertising programmatically.

For political buyers, Xandr’s Invest DSP platform gives customers the ability to purchase ads across all 50 states, up and down the ballot on every channel at scale. It provides “intuitive workflows” for traders, publisher CTV creative spec verification, priority creative review and broad access to politically addressable supply across channels, making it easier for traders to activate political campaigns quickly in the expedited timelines required during the political season, the company said. 

The Invest DSP platform also includes a specialized catalogue of political deals in Xandr’s Premium Video Catalog, with first look deals providing preferred access to CTV and premium video supply; Xandr’s ongoing transparency reporting framework with access for buyers to place political ads in all 50 states; and political geography targeting built into the platform, enabling customers to reach the political districts that matter at the touch of a button.

For Xandr’s publisher customers, the Monetize SSP platform will help them unlock spend in all 50 states through Xandr’s ongoing transparency reporting framework. The Monetize SSP platform also includes a dedicated creative review tool and auditing service that streamlines publishers’ ability to easily review, accept and execute political creatives across their inventory.

Xandr also offers political buyers committed support through service-level agreements (SLAs) that provide support across extended hours and weekends.

“Political advertising has always been a nuanced vertical, which is why both buyers and sellers need a nuanced solution. A platform partner who understands the complexity of political and is able to support both the buy and sell side with innovative solutions that address the challenges in digital advertising is crucial,” comments Mike Welch, GM, Xandr. “At Xandr, we continue to significantly invest in a platform purpose-built for political to ensure the critical needs of political advertisers are met. Xandr’s Invest DSP, Monetize SSP and Xandr Curate collectively provide a platform for political that enables advertisers to reach voters at scale, in every channel, across every state, and offers publishers the opportunity to capitalize on political spend across all 50 states.”

NEW YORK—In the run-up to the 2022 elections where Kantar is estimating that political advertising could hit $7.8 billion, the TVB trade association representing America’s local broadcast television industry has issued new research highlighting the effectiveness of TV ads. 

The TVB survey of 1,000 registered voters in Virginia found that television was the most important influence throughout the voter decision process (awareness/interest/get more information/consider voting/vote) during the 2021 Virginia gubernatorial race. 

This was also true for all political affiliations, adults  aged 18-34, adults older than 35 and African-Americans, the TVB reported. 

The findings also highlighted that television is still key for influencing voters, with local broadcast TV maintaining the highest level (77%) of trust among voters. Social media, at 37%, ranked last. Virginia voters also found “fake news” most prevalent on social media (52%) and cable (43%).

Of those who cited television as the most important in the awareness stage, 68% picked broadcast television.

In addition about four in five Virginia respondents (79%) took action (voting, researching the candidate, discussing the ad with others, etc.) after seeing or hearing a TV ad, including word of mouth and going online. 

For local news and information, websites of choice were local TV stations’ sites, the survey found. Respondents preferred them twice as much as the next highest local medium, newspaper websites.

A majority (56%) of voters also selected TV as motivating them to get out and vote. Social media was next at 20%, followed by mail at 17%.

“Exposure to advertising on a media platform does not necessarily guarantee that voters will find that platform’s message important for influencing their voting decision process - with the exception of television,” TVB's chief research officer Hadassa Gerber explained. “Of over 20 platforms included in the study, voters overwhelmingly cited TV as the most important influence; there was no close second.”

More results from the survey are available here and in the graphics below. 

CHANTILLY, Va.—BIA Advisory Services is predicting that the midterm election year will be a good one for local broadcasters, with political advertising boosting the local broadcast ad revenue to $21 billion in 2022. 

BIA is forecasting that $19.3 billion come from over-the-air (OTA) revenue and $1.7 billion in digital, a big jump of 26.5% for the industry. 

The new forecast will be released in an address by Tom Buono, founder and chief executive officer of BIA Advisory Services at the TVB Forward Conference on September 30. 

In the address Buono will argue that key drivers include a long and significant political advertising season, growth in TV’s digital advertising opportunities, and positive economic signs for key verticals.

“There are many factors that go into our forecasting,” said Buono. “We take into consideration economic trends, consumer behavior, growth in digital ad spending and the local advertising environment. These points have all shifted in an unorthodox way since the pandemic first hit and are now affecting television viewing habits and local advertising spending.”

Buono said that BIA’s analysts saw a V-shaped recovery in local advertising from 2019 to 2021 – with a $10 billion dip in 2020 and a close return in 2021 to pre-pandemic levels. 

Over the long-term, the BIA is expecting that local advertising in the U.S. to continue in a positive direction barring any new disruptions. BIA is now estimating a 3.4 percent compound annual growth range over this projected period.

The most significant factor going into 2022 for local broadcast TV, Buono explained, is that political advertising spending will be extremely strong for a significant portion of the year.

BIA expects political advertising next year to rival 2020 and even experience further expansion by 2024. 

The BIA’s combined forecasted local TV spend for political is $3.4 billion in 2022, with 44.8% of local media political advertising going to OTA broadcast TV alone. The top five markets for next year’s political advertising will be New York City, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Phoenix, and Philadelphia.

Growth in OTT is also significant. With many Americans’ continuing to work from home and shift their viewing habits, over-the-top (OTT) has become more of a focus for many broadcasters. 

According to BIA’s estimate, OTT ad spending is expected to reach $1.17 billion in 2021, $1.64 billion in 2022, and will surpass $2 billion by 2024.

“While the total local advertising trend in the U.S. is positive, it’s imperative to note that most of the growth is happening on the digital side, which includes mobile, online, and OTT ad channels. We expect local digital to exceed local traditional in 2023 (due in large part to continuing declines in print media advertising), making cross-platform selling even more important in the future,” said Buono.

Advertising in 2020 during the pandemic took its toll on many of the key verticals, BIA said. Leisure and recreation, auto and retail were hit especially hard. 

But many verticals have improved in 2021 from a lower base in 2020 and will continue to show improvement for next year. 

For TV OTA, key verticals increasing their spending ad dollars in 2022 will be education, legal services, health, leisure and recreation, and political, BIA predicts.

Possible target categories for the broadcast TV industry include supermarkets, wireless carriers, quick service restaurants (QSRs) and hospitals.

In early September, BIA released its 2022 U.S. Local Advertising Forecast for 16 media, including local broadcast television, and 96 business sub-verticals. The five-year forecast is available for all 210 local television markets and is based on a proprietary forecasting methodology of the local advertising marketplace. Forecast data is delivered by the local advertising intelligence dashboard, BIA ADVantage. 

More information is available here.

Gray Television’s total non-political (core) ad revenue last month was about $82 million; during the same month, political ads generated $175 in advertising, said Pat LaPlatney, president & co-CEO of Gray Television Inc. Overall, at Gray TV stations in 95 markets—even through a longer-than-ever political process which began in early 2019—53% of total political revenue came between Oct. 1 and Nov. 3 (Election Day), LaPlatney explained during the monthly webcast of the Media Institute, a Washington think tank, on Monday (Nov. 23).

His summary confirmed earlier reports on the extraordinary reliance on broadcast political advertising this year, even with the impact of early voting in many states.

“Gray Television has never seen spending start earlier than we did for the 2020 cycle,” he added, citing ad buys in Maine for Senator Susan Collins’ reelection effort “a full year before the general election.” He also pointed to the first order (“albeit a small one”) from Democratic primary hopeful Tom Steyer in February 2019.

In remarks that large shared research data from Kantar Media’s Campaign Media Analysis Group (CMAG), which monitors political advertising, LaPlatney summarized the trends of the political arena.

He also confirmed that “sports events were a heavy focus, with many [political] advertisers triple spotting during college and NFL football games.”  He noted that many campaign advertisers ran two spots within a half-hour local newscast and many waived the separation requirements to keep their commercials from being run adjacent to rivals’ political messages.

He pointed out that “the Bloomberg Effect” shattered records and created “unprecedented spending levels” during a six- or seven-week period, reaching levels that most political advertisers barely hit during the entire cycle.

From this year’s experience, LaPlatney said he believes broadcast TV will continue to play a major role in campaign advertising—even with the growing presence of digital platforms.  He also cited the continuing TV commercials in the pending Georgia races for U.S. Senate seats. 

“Campaigns turned much more to broadcast television,” he said.  ““You’ll see the pie continue to grow. Digital will grow; the broadcast share will be similar to where it ended up this cycle—at about 50%” in the next presidential election year.

“These records will be broken in 2024,” he predicted, but he admitted, “It's hard for me to put that into context.”   

In response to questions about the role of NextGen TV (also known as ATSC 3.0), LaPlatney said he expects it to have “a significant effect,” citing the IP-based format for its ability to provide better targeting and click-to-donate options.

“There will be markets where ATSC 3.0 will matter,” he said—and it will increase during the next four year.

LaPlatney said that Gray TV is “fully committed” to the 3.0 rollout, but because many of its stations are in smaller markets, it may be a while before the service debuts throughout its footprint. He said that its stations in Charlotte, N.C., and Cleveland will launch NextGen TV transmissions in 2021 and he’s looking forward to “the competitive advantages we never had before.”

CHANTILLY, Va.—The local advertising market looks different than it did at the start of 2020 because of the coronavirus, and BIA Advisory Services is readjusting its revenue projections as a result. After initially estimating a total revenue of $161.3 billion back in November 2019, BIA now projects the 2020 numbers to be $144.3 billion, a drop of 10.6%.

Local television, and local radio, have been heavily impacted by decreased ad spending by leisure & entertainment, restaurants, retail companies and sports cancellations. For local over-the-air TV, BIA decreased its estimated revenue for the year by $800 million ($17.8 billion to $17 billion); it projected the same loss for cable ($6.4 billion down to $5.6 billion). For online platforms, including TV online advertising and OTT advertising, the drop is estimated to be less significant, but still $100 million less each.

“A realistic view of the virus is that it will continue to have a negative impact on the second quarter, with some continuation into the third quarter,” said Mark Fratrik, senior vice president and chief economist, BIA. “We have assumed that there will be a strong rebound in the latter part of the year, but we will have to re-evaluate as the on-going economic impact becomes clearer.”

That rebound could come in the form of political advertising as the U.S. general election will take place in early November. These political ads are expected to soften the revenue decrease for local cable and local OTA TV stations compared to other media.

Related, many organizations, like NAB, and members of Congress have been pushing for federal advertising dollars to go to local media stations to help them continue to operate amid this loss in traditional advertising revenue.

As far as how to best move forward among the current uncertainty, BIA CEO and founder Thomas Buono says that media groups can focus on three key areas: preserving liquidity, emphasize and manage relationships and think forward as a team.

BIA is offering detailed local ad market revenue forecasts for 210 TV markets, along with a COVID resource area, through its BIA ADVantage platform.

For more information, visit www.bia.com.  

Politicians running in the 2018 elections spent a record amount of money on advertising for mid-term campaigns, with more than $4 billion between local broadcast, cable and online. The vast bulk of the dollars went to local television, at just over $3 billion, according to the Television Bureau of Advertising. Cable brought in $1.1 billion and $900 million went to online advertising. Although local television reaped the biggest windfall, the numbers represent a 29 percent increase for local TV, 75 percent for cable and a whopping 260 percent increase for online, when compared to the 2014 mid-terms, according to Axios.

The biggest spenders in the campaign, according to Axios were Political Action Committees (PACs), including Priorities USA and House Majority PAC on the left, Congressional Leadership Fund and Senate Leadership Fund on the right, as well as the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee.

The figures for digital online political advertising were debateable, with advertising research firm Borrell touting $1.8 billion and Kantar Media/CMAG estimating $900 million. In 2014, an estimated $250 million was spend in online campaign ads.

Nevertheless, with 3 out of every 4 dollars spent on local TV ads, TVB touted the figures as proof that political campaigns continue to view local television as the primary venue for political advertising.

“Campaigns, PACs and other entities spent over $3 billion dollars on local broadcast television advertising in the 2018 midterm cycle,” commented TVB President & CEO, Steve Lanzano. “There is no doubt that local broadcast TV delivers for political campaigns. Candidates continue to derive tangible, winning results from local broadcast television. Tuesday’s dominant reliance on TV, over all other media platforms, demonstrates that voters rely on local broadcast TV to inform their voting decisions.”

“2018 was uncertain in every way; the volatility this cycle was unprecedented,” said Kyle Roberts, President and CEO of Advertising Analytics. “It’s why we saw candidates and campaigns go back to what is tried and true: if you use TV, it reaches voters and they listen. TV works.”

The ad opens in a grocery store. The text on the screen says: “If life was like politics.”

The letters in “Politics” are evenly divided—the four to left are blue; the four to the right are red. They’re superimposed over a grocery store drink cooler. The plastic bottles on the left of the fridge are filled with blue liquid; those on the right with red. Dialogue comes up over the whimsical, bouncy music. “We never settle for just two lousy choices in anything—except politics.”

That describes the opening few seconds of a YouTube ad I saw recently for Kansas independent gubernatorial candidate Greg Orman.

Makes sense, I thought. I live in Kansas. YouTube knows to feed me an ad for a political race I should care about.

[Read: Report: Advanced TV Upgrades Pushing Local Ad Sales To $37B By ‘22]

A few more ads popped up while I surfed on YouTube for “Family Guy” clips, “SNL Celebrity Jeopardy” and Pablo Francisco talking about his experience at a techno club in Miami Beach. Then when I least expected it I got an ad that started off with this sentence: “Kevin Yoder went to Washington to work for the people of Kansas, right? Wrong!”

Now I sat straight up in my chair and pondered what just happened. The Kansas City metro area spans both Kanas and Missouri. I am represented by Yoder. On the Missouri side, the Rev. Emanuel Cleaver II represent the Fifth Congressional District, mostly Jackson County; Sam Graves represents Missouri’s Sixth Congressional District—all of northern Missouri, including the northern portion of Kansas City.

What got my attention was that YouTube served me an ad only of interest to people who live in Yoder’s district. I get it. I have an IP address that’s associated with my home address, and YouTube knew what ad to send me.

But what are the implications for TV, a medium that counts political advertising among its biggest revenue generators?

Ten years ago, I would have said they are pretty dire. But today with a new TV standard offering support for layered division multiplexing (LDM), single frequency networks (SFNs) and internet connectivity—which all enable broadcasters to play in the zoned content delivery space—I’d say the biggest implication of my weekend YouTube ad experience is a wake-up call. It should serve as a kick in the pants. It should light a fire. It should motivate local TV broadcasters to deploy Next Gen TV so they too can offer hyperlocal content, including commercials of all sorts, to remain competitive.

CHANTILLY, VA—BIA Advisory Services—a provider of data-centered market research, analysis, strategic consulting and valuation services for the local media industry—projects that local TV station revenue will reach $27.7 billion, up from $26.2 billion in 2017.  

Anticipating higher ad revenues driven by political ads, BIA Advisory also projects $18.2 billion for over-the-air ad revenue, up 5.8 percent—and $1.1 billion for digital revenue, up 6.3 percent—compared to 2017. And retransmission consent agreements between local TV stations and cable/satellite companies will contribute another $8.4 billion to the industry’s total revenue this year.

“This year will be particularly interesting to watch in terms of political and digital. Local television is at a juncture where strategic decisions will be key to their success,” said Mark Fratrik, senior vice president and chief economist at BIA Advisory Services. “We anticipate political advertising will generate significant ad revenue for local television this year, in particular for over-the-air revenue. Of all media, television still dominates in political years, even as campaigns integrate more digital advertising into their overall strategy.”

[Read: Global Consumer Spending On Entertainment Media To Reach $439B By 2021]

BIA Advisory claims that the local TV industry is offsetting flat over-the-air revenues by expanding its multiplatform advertising to deliver content more effectively in today’s multi-touch point content ecosystem. The firm estimates that location-targeted mobile ad spend will be $22.1 billion in 2018, which includes $3.1 billion of additional mobile advertising sold by traditional media players, including TV broadcasters and other traditional media.

“Mobile advertising is a smart play for television because it offers a unique opportunity to leverage existing assets, such as news and weather, through sponsored mobile websites and applications,” Fratrik adds. “These types of efforts are important as over-the-top—or OTT—services continue to attract viewers.”

BIA Advisory published these findings, along with a comprehensive profile of all 210 television markets plus Puerto Rico, in the first-quarter edition of its “Investing In Television Market Report,” as well as its software database, Media Access Pro, an analytical data service that delivers comprehensive information on the radio, TV and newspaper industries. BIA also delivers nationwide and local market forecasts in BIA ADVantage, a local market intelligence dashboard.