Politics On-Demand

POLITICS ON-DEMAND
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Stewart Schley]
The last election year was a watershed for political advertising on cable. Both George W. Bush's and John Kerry's presidential campaigns showered record sums on interconnects and local cable systems late in the race. As another election year heats up, cable advertising managers are hoping that a full slate of contests, increased viewership and new on-demand advertising technologies will prove the adage that all politics is local -- at least as far as advertising is concerned. According to TNS Media Intelligence's Campaign Analysis Group, spot-TV sellers collected a record $1.27 billion in 2004, more than half of which ($724 million) came from non-presidential campaigns for federal, state and local offices. (TNS Media didn't measure local-cable advertising specifically). Radio and newspaper advertising accounted for less than $150 million in total political-ad spending. Even without a presidential race this year, many expect to see an increase of 10% or greater in total political spending, propelled by the tripling of gubernatorial races and the contests for House of Representatives seats. Indeed, the audience for cable ads has grown since the last election, with significant chunks of TV viewers migrating from broadcast-network affiliates. When voters reelected Bush president in November 2004, the aggregate share of prime time TV viewing produced by ad-supported cable networks was 51.6 %, according to the Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau's analysis of Nielsen Media Research data. By November 2005, the share had climbed to 53.4%. Cable operators also have grown more comfortable with the regulatory vagaries of political advertising well known to broadcast stations The greater familiarity that account executives have with unit-rate regulations and requirements for making ad inventory available on equal terms to candidates, the more likely candidates will do business.
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