Obama Campaign Pays Lower Olympic Rates Than RNC

At least on one level, Democrats seem to be making out better than Republicans with NBC’s Olympic coverage. The Republican National Committee (RNC) is paying 33% more for a prime-time spot than the Obama campaign. The RNC plans to air three 30-second ads at $451,000 each during NBC’s prime-time coverage. The Obama campaign, which is running 15 ads, has locked in its price at $340,200 a spot. The RNC last week inked a $2.6 million national Olympic buy, where it is paying higher rates than Obama across the board, according to an NBCUniversal political file. NBC does not comment on specifics of its deals. But the network is likely taking a cue from an FCC statute, which entitles a candidate to pay a comparable rate to general advertisers. For the most part, national political committees are not entitled to that benefit and a network does not face limits in what it can charge them. Using estimates, both the Obama campaign and the RNC appear to be receiving a good discount compared to the general market, with President Obama paying about half that going rate and the RNC about 60% as much. President Obama is spending more than double the RNC for all its national time during the London Games, with a $6 million buy.