Political candidates spend early, often on TV ads

By Georg Szalai

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - Political advertising spending in this presidential primary season is on a record track with TV stations in the early decision states benefiting the most.

With many primaries moved up and happening in quick succession this time, presidential candidates are spending more heavily than ever on key states in the early going, a group of experts said during a recent panel organized by the International Radio & Television Society Foundation.

That early spending spree, however, raises questions about how much money the candidates will have left and where they will put it down the line.

During the final week before the Iowa caucus on January 3, White House hopefuls poured about $1 million a day into advertising on the state's TV stations, said John Poor, vp marketing at the Television Bureau of Advertising. "That blew all past spending away," he later told The Hollywood Reporter. "It created havoc in the last seven days."

He also said it was shaping up to be "a furious (final) week in Michigan," which holds its primary Tuesday.

TV stations in Nevada and South Carolina, where the next decisions will come, also look set to get unprecedented amounts of primary advertising, Poor said.

After that, he expects many of the candidates that are left standing to catch a breath ahead of Super Tuesday on February 5, when primaries take place in 23 states. They will have to decide in which states they have a real chance and, as a result, where to put their remaining financial resources.

By Super Tuesday, 65% of primary delegates will be decided, opening up a new advertising opportunity never before used by a presidential hopeful, said Bob Marra, general sales manager at WPIX-TV/CW11 New York.