Political TV Ad Spending Sets Record

[sabra]

Source: ABC News

October is the Busiest Month in History for Political Ads on TV

Politicians and outside political groups made their own contributions to the economic recovery – by purchasing billions of dollars in air time on local television in the run-up to the midterm elections. On Friday, the Nielson Company released numbers which showed that October was the busiest month in history for political ads on TV.

Television stations hit American viewers with 1.48 million political ads, said Nielson, up from the 1.41 million political ads aired in October 2008.

In Ohio, where Democrats and Republicans went toe-to-toe in a tough election environment this year, viewers faced a deluge of political ads. Cleveland saw the brunt of it, with the state capital, Columbus, coming in a close second. Nielson found about 1-of-every-4 paid TV ads aired on local stations in October in both cities was from a political candidate or an outside political group.

Politicians and third party groups spent an estimated $564 million in Ohio, according to the non-partisan Campaign Finance Institute in this election, driving up the demand, and the prices, for local TV advertising.

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/spending-political-ads-sets-record-october/story?id=12070792

[Bragi]

1. How important are TV ads at this point?

I wouldn't expect the beneficaries (ad firms, consultants, networks, newspapers) to question the wisdom of spending idiotically huge sums on advertising, but I wonder now if the only reason pols have to spend on advertising is because everyone else does.

However, since political advertising now does nothing but misinform and enflame, one wonders what would happen if the major parties just abandoned advertising and figured out other ways to communicate.

I know, I know, won't happen, but it should. Advertising is no longer part of any solution to improving politics and voter engagement. It is now hugely dysfunctional, and part of the problem.

[Bragi]

2. Amazing how uncontroversial this is

No-one seems bothered in the least by the fact that $4.2 billion was spent in the midterms on a form of communications that makes voters more stupid and further degrades political discourse.

[Winston Wolf]

3. Kicked...

...and recommended.

[JackRiddler]

Anyone know a reliable cumulative assessment of all campaigns, all spending this election?

I'm wondering what the total was for the third-party corporate spending and how it broke down by region, party, issue. Surely some group has put together an estimate.

[JackRiddler]

4. dupe

[FrenchieCat]

5. No shit, ABC Sherlock! ABC got a lot of it too......

as did all of the rest of the GOP toe sucking mediawhores.

They love Citizen United! Getting rich without barely trying,
just have to read the GOP talking points every night, and
the deed was done. Oh...and they ain't finished.