Political TV Buying Hits Record High

No matter which presidential candidate prevails Nov. 6, local television already is this election cycle's big winner.

President Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney are waging an intense contest to tie up as much advertising time as they can between now and Election Day, with the GOP super PACs giving Romney a big spending edge. The competition is driving up ad rates as available airtime dwindles in swing states. "The campaigns are booking ad time just to make sure it's still around," says Travis Ridout, a Washington State University political science professor who tracks campaigns. "I suspect they'll start to fight over it." According to Pivotal Research Group analyst Brian Wieser, by the end of this election cycle, political spending on TV ads will have topped a stunning $2.9 billion. The previous record was $2.2 billion, set in 2010. "There's just a lot of money being spent -- much more than expected," says Wieser. "The super PACs are driving it."