Political Ad Spending Less Than Expected

POLITICAL AD SPENDING LESS THAN EXPECTED
There are growing indications that the pace of political ad spending is starting to slip as the presidential candidates ramp up for the biggest day in the primary season Feb. 5. At the same time, both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama's campaigns have started asking about buying national advertising time on broadcast TV networks. Traditionally, TV ad buys for the presidential primaries have been the exclusive purview of local TV stations and spot cable. With more than 20 states slated to hold primaries and caucuses Feb. 5 political observers and media trackers had expected both Democrats and Republicans to be spending aggressively on local TV outlets. The Clinton and Obama campaigns are doing just that, but Republicans appear to be falling far short of projections. The result: Unless there are drastic changes, overall spending post-New Hampshire could be closer to $50 million than the early projected $80 million. Forty million dollars of that spending now is expected on the Democratic side alone.
http://www.tvweek.com/news/2008/01/political_ad_spending_less_tha.php
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