Stations Log Record Windfall

STATIONS LOG RECORD WINDFALL
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John M. Higgins]
Television-station managers typically have a straightforward view of politics: It doesn't matter who wins; it's how many ads they buy. The bloodier the fight, the better. So no matter which candidate secures the most votes or which party controls Congress after the unusually caustic midterm elections climax this week, TV broadcasters are the clearest victors. Spending by candidates, parties and groups behind initiatives on state ballots is estimated at $2.25 billion this year, breaking the $1.5 billion record set in 2004, a campaign fueled by presidential primaries and a tense general election. Even though the gains are temporary and only in select markets, the volume has taken some by surprise. “What used to be a $1 million race is now $1.7 million,” says Evan Tracey, COO of TNS Media Intelligence's Campaign Media Analysis Group. Tracey, whose data are relied on heavily by campaigns and stations, has had to revise his estimates repeatedly upward as Election Day draws near.
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