Where Parties Look for an Audience

An analysis by The New York Times of the ad buys for Senate and governors' campaigns over a one-month period between mid-September and mid-October -- using data provided by the Campaign Media Analysis Group, a political ad tracking firm, and with help from National Media -- found that while Democrats and Republicans advertise roughly equally on the top-rated prime-time shows, some differences do emerge.

"Dancing With the Stars" has the most political ad purchases on prime-time television among both Democratic and Republican media buyers. But the bipartisan consensus on America's TV habits apparently ends there. Republican ad buyers favor sports programming ("Saturday Night College Football") and crime dramas ("NCIS"), while their Democratic counterparts are more likely to place ads on comedies ("Two and a Half Men") and talk programming ("The Dr. Oz Show.")

According to demographic data from the Nielsen Company, the sports shows most favored by Republican buyers -- "Saturday Night College Football," "NBC Sunday Night Football," "NFL Sunday Kickoff," Nascar racing and Major League Baseball -- have an audience that is nearly two-thirds or higher male. Republicans also out-advertised Democrats on crime shows, placing roughly one-third more ads on shows like "Detroit 1-8-7," "Medium," "Cops," "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," "48 Hours Mystery" and "NCIS." Democrats tended to focus on talk shows, placing roughly two-and-a-half times as many ads as Republicans on "The Dr. Oz Show" and "Rachael Ray," and almost twice as many on "Dr. Phil." They also advertised at a higher rate on what Mr. Feltus called "situational comedies" and "contemporary humor" — slightly edgier comedies like "Outsourced," "Two and a Half Men," "Cougar Town" and "30 Rock."