Broadcasters push political campaigns to buy more ads

The broadcast industry is looking to protect its stronghold in the political ad world. A broadcast industry trade group -- TVB -- is going up with a series of local Washington (DC) ads telling political campaigns why advertising on networks is beneficial. Those ads will air during the political Sunday show lineups on ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC. The trade group is spending no money on the relatively small buy because the local stations, which benefit from the publicity, are donating the time. The group is also discussing whether to expand the campaign into other areas.

While digital and cable advertising have become more widely used in recent elections, broadcast remains king. TV spending could hit $4.4 billion this cycle, according to estimates from Kantar Media. "The top 100 regularly scheduled TV shows that reach the key 35 plus voter demographic, 95 of them are on broadcast TV. Don't let your message get lost in the dark. Your voters are here. Target wisely. Target broadcast," the ad says.