Lowest Unit Charge Season

In what seems to be the longest presidential campaign in history, September 7th marks the beginning of the final stretch. That's the first day of , the 60-day period before the November 6th, 2012 general election.

During that time (which also occurs in the 45 days before a primary election), broadcast stations may charge no more than their lowest rate for each particular class of ad time purchased for a "use" by a legally qualified candidate. Of course, while the concept sounds simple enough, its implementation at stations with dozens of different classes of ad time has proven to be a biennial headache for broadcasters. However, particularly for stations in political swing states, it can be a fairly profitable headache, and well worth the regulatory aspirin needed to get through it.