Stations Doing Their Bit For Electoral Politics

[Commentary] Jack Messmer looked into the files of stations in three swing markets to see if he could ascertain the differences between what super PACs and other non-candidates are paying and what candidates are paying. The candidates should be paying less.

The law says that qualified candidates are entitled to buy spots in the run-up to elections at the lowest unit rate — that is, at the rate stations would charge their most-favored advertisers. Stations may charge non-candidates as much as the market will bear. Our look at the files confirmed that they are, but I was surprised by how big the disparity was. The candidate price was, in a couple of cases, 75% less than that of the non-candidate. Broadcasters are getting a lot in political advertising (up to $3 billion this year), they are getting considerably less than they could — and should — in a free and unregulated market. So, broadcasters should get some credit for selling time on the cheap. Keep in mind the ad time only has value to any advertiser because of the enormous investment broadcasters make in the news and entertainment programming that surround it.