Landslide for TV

The 2008 race for the presidency has been memorable for many reasons, not the least of which is the jaw-dropping effect it has had on the television industry. The campaign brought to media companies a record $750 million in advertising revenue -- of which local stations and the broadcast and cable networks reaped 90%, helping offset a precipitous drop in other types of TV ad buys as the economy stumbled toward recession. And it also reinvigorated cable news channels, helped fuel ratings records for politically incorrect comedy shows and dramatically raised the profile of some TV stars. While the fat lady has not even begun to sing yet, what soon may get dubbed "The Great Campaign of 2008" can be summed up as a race of record-smashing, eye-popping impact. Political ads appeared in places not seen in recent years: the Olympics, soap operas and NFL games. For the first time, cable systems were used extensively as ad vehicles for the primaries as well as the general election. The national broadcast TV networks, which hadn't seen presidential campaign ads in 12 years, sold time to the campaigns of both Sen Barack Obama (D-IL) and the Sen John McCain (R-AZ). Local stations generated unexpected revenue twice -- first because the tightness of the Democratic race forced the contenders to extend spending to more states, then because the Obama campaign's decision to skip federal financing allowed it to spend far more than the $84 million the government gave the McCain campaign. Cable networks also attracted more political advertising than ever before. Also, ratings generally rose for presidential campaign programming, whether it was straight news coverage or comedy material about the campaign.