Midterm campaigns lead to ad boom for local TV stations

Politics can, of course, ruin just about anything and everything. But politics is also a saving grace for the traditional linear TV business in the summer of 2022—amidst an economy shaded by the threat of recession during what happens to be a particularly contentious midterm election cycle. Because for all the talk about some marketers starting to pull back on spending, political advertising just continues to rise and rise and rise. Here’s what you need to know right now: • Total campaign ad spending for U.S. Senate, U.S. House, gubernatorial and other key races in the U.S. midterm elections has surged past $3 billion, according to the latest Ad Age Campaign Ad Scorecard analysis. (Scroll down to see charts that offer in-depth breakdowns.) To give you a sense of the pace of spending, that total is nearly a billion more than the figure ($2.1 billion) we reported in a Campaign Ad Scorecard we published on July 12. (Campaign Ad Scorecard is part of Ad Age’s Campaign Trail coverage, a project of Ad Age Datacenter, led by Director of Data Management Kevin Brown in partnership with Kantar/CMAG.) • The big picture: Republicans are outspending Democrats—$1.38 billion to $1.25 billion. (Our tallies include spending by the candidates’ campaigns and the political action committees supporting them.) Ad spending, marketing and financial stats Analyzing the latest data Click here • Though that $3.1 billion total includes TV, radio and tracked digital advertising (from Dec. 28, 2021, through Election Day as of Aug. 29, 2022), the midterm campaign ad windfall is most keenly seen—and felt—at the local TV station level. • Case in point: Station-owner Tegna reports in its second-quarter 2022 results statement, “Political revenue was a second-quarter record of $51 million, up 53 percent from 2018, the last non-presidential election year, on a pro forma basis.” (Formed in 2015 when Gannett split its TV and publishing operations into two separate companies, Tegna’s portfolio includes 64 stations in 51 markets from California to Maine—including battleground states such as Georgia, Ohio and Pennsylvania. • Consider that KSNV, KLAS and KVVU—three stations in Las Vegas—have pulled in a combined $128 million in political advertising this midterm cycle. (KSNV is an NBC affiliate owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group, KLAS is a CBS affiliate owned by Nexstar Media Group, and KVVU is a Fox affiliate owned by Gray Television.) • Or consider WSB in Atlanta. Top-rated WSB has by itself seen an influx of $60.1 million in political advertising—including $33.8 million from Democrats and $24.2 million from Republicans. (WSB is an ABC affiliate that’s the flagship of Atlanta-based Cox Media Group, which is majority-owned by Apollo Global Management.) Ad Age Leading National Advertisers 2022 See ad spending, rankings and analysis for the biggest marketers and brands Click here • Incidentally, the lion’s share of WSB’s windfall has to do with control of the U.S. Senate. As we’ve previously noted in our Campaign Trail coverage, incumbent U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock (D) has been in office only since January 2021; he won a special election for the seat, which was previously held by Kelly Loeffler (R). Warnock is set to face off against former football player Herschel Walker, who won the Republican nomination and has been endorsed by Donald Trump. As recently as June, Warnock held a commanding lead over Walker. But consider this Fox News headline from Tuesday: “Georgia Senate race tightens as Walker holds slight lead over Warnock, economy remains top issue: poll.” • A reminder of Georgia’s extra-convoluted system for picking leaders, per Politico: “[I]n Georgia, if no candidate gets a majority of the vote, the top two proceed to a head-to-head Dec. 6 runoff—the same circumstances that saw the state’s voters tip control of the Senate to Democrats last year.” • Flashback to our Campaign Ad Scorecard from December 11, 2020: “Out of control: Georgia’s U.S. Senate runoff election ad spending hits $440 million.” Midterm ad spending by race Political ad spending by party. Dollars in millions. Media spending Race Democrat Republican Other Total U.S. Senate $506.9 $601.2 $14.5 $1,122.7 Governor 330.9 364.5 6.1 701.5 U.S. House 338.5 346.4 0.4 685.2 Ballot measures 0.0 0.7 307.6 308.2 Other 75.6 71.9 90.4 238.0 Total $1,252.0 $1,384.6 $418.9 $3,055.5 Top 10 TV stations Political ad spending during midterm 2022. Dollars in millions. Media spending Station, market Democrat Republican Other Total WSB, Atlanta $33.8 $24.2 $2.1 $60.1 KSNV, Las Vegas 25.5 18.9 1.1 45.5 KLAS, Las Vegas 25.1 16.0 1.3 42.4 KVVU, Las Vegas 24.2 14.3 1.3 39.8 WAGA, Atlanta 20.8 15.2 1.5 37.4 WPVI, Philadelphia 16.5 14.8 0.0 31.2 KPHO, Phoenix (Prescott) 13.4 16.2 1.3 30.9 KSAZ, Phoenix (Prescott) 12.5 16.6 0.7 29.9 KABC, Los Angeles 10.4 1.2 18.1 29.8 KCBS, Los Angeles 9.0 0.7 17.5 27.3 Other 795.0 898.3 225.1 1,918.4 Total $986.1 $1,036.5 $270.0 $2,292.6 Political ad spending by race on Atlanta TV station WSB During midterm 2022. Dollars in millions. Media spending Race Democrat Republican Other Total U.S. Senate$22.9$14.9$0.9$38.6 Governor5.65.90.011.4 U.S. House2.70.40.03.1 Attorney General1.21.40.02.6 Secretary of State1.40.60.01.9 Lieutenant Governor0.00.90.00.9 N/A0.10.21.21.5 Total$33.8$24.2$2.1$60.1 Campaign ads on local TV stations By station affiliation. Dollars in millions. Media spending Network affiliation Democrat Republican Other Total ABC $253.4 $265.9 $70.9 $590.1 CBS 239.8 273.4 62.2 575.4 NBC 228.7 266.6 61.6 556.9 Fox 165.5 158.7 34.7 358.9 CW 22.4 11.0 17.6 51.0 Other 76.4 61.0 23.0 160.3 Total $986.1 $1,036.5 $270.0 $2,292.6 Source: Media spending from Kantar/CMAG. Spending (booked or spent) for TV, radio and digital ads between Dec. 28, 2021, and Election Day as of Aug. 29, 2022. Some candidates and PACs had begun spending—some significantly—in 2021. Top marketers, brands and agency ventures Ad Age Datacenter’s definitive rankings of the biggest U.S. and global advertisers and agency companies Click here

Midterm campaigns lead to ad boom for local TV stations

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