The Cleveland-Akron market now ranks number
one. No, Nielsen has not refigured its DMA's (Cleveland-Akron is still 18). But
according to Television Bureau of Advertising and BIA data compiled by Wells
Fargo Securities, it is the top market in political ad dollars spent
year-to-date through Sept. 2 at $37,250,280.
Number
two is Washington, D.C. at $35,504,710,
followed by Tampa-St. Petersburg-Sarasota, Fla., at $31,233,120.
Rounding
out the top five are Las Vegas at $30,665,420, and Orlando-Daytona Beach, Melbourne, Fla., at $24,854,410.
According
to Wells Fargo, total local TV political ad spending year to date through Sept.
2 is $852.6 million. Add in network and national spot, and the total is just
south of $1 billion at $998.4 million.
Presidential
spending is the greatest percentage of that total, at 45.4% of year-to-date
political ad spending. Congressional was at 33.8%.
Fox
gets the nod as the outlet with the greatest exposure to all those political ad
dollars at 10.2% based on its total market share (station revenue as a
percentage of total market revenue). CBS is second at 8.4%.
