Political ad spending so far: $648 million

The election is a little more than three months away, and so far more than half a billion has been spent on TV advertising. From now until the election, another $2.5 billion will be spent, saturating markets such as Los Angeles and Cleveland, Ohio, where spending is already past the $20 million point. That's according to a report from Wells Fargo Securities, which says that total television spending on political this year has hit $647.7 million through July 8. Three quarters of that, $481 million, has been spent on local television.

The presidential campaigns contributed the largest amount to spot TV, $194.9 million, with ballot measures No. 2 at $120 million. Wells Fargo estimates that spot TV spending will total $2.65 billion by election's end, up 15.9 percent from 2010, which did not have a presidential election. Network TV will get $98 million, up 16 percent from 2010. Some of that will come during the Olympics over the next two weeks, where President Barack Obama's campaign has made several large buys, including the opening ceremonies. And $442 million will go to cable, most of that local spending on MSOs such as Comcast and Time Warner Cable. That's up 23 percent from 2010.