Oregon broadcast TV's big haul from election: $24 million and counting

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The KOIN TV control in Portland during a noon news broadcast in 2012. Oregon broadcast stations were big economic winners during the last campaign, raking in at least $24 million in political ad revenue.

(Ross William Hamilton/The Oregonian)

The Center for Public Integrity estimates that at least $24 million was spent on broadcast TV ads in Oregon in the last election cycle.

No wonder one of the hoariest cliches in politics is that the real winners are the TV stations, just like the merchants who made the real gold-rush fortunes providing the shovels.  (And here is where you provide your own joke about what the candidates shoveled on TV).

What the numbers tell you is that, for all of the new technology to communicate with voters, old-fashioned broadcast TV still vacuums up the biggest share of campaign dollars.  Campaigns see it as the best way to reach a mass audience, particularly less-knowledgeable voters open to persuasion.

Campaign advertising has become so important to TV stations that the strength of the political ad market -- such as whether a station is in a state that allows initiatives or is competitive in presidential races -- has become a factor in a station's market value.

The latest ad tracker from the center estimates -- in what should be no surprise -- that the Oregon campaigns for and against the GMO labeling measure spent more on TV campaign ads than anyone else in the state.

The group estimates that opponents of GMO labeling spent $6.1 million and proponents spent $3.8 million.  This figure doesn't include local cable buys, which will certainly inflate the total amount spent on TV ads.  All told, the center said the GMO initiative generated the country's fifth largest TV ad buys for a ballot measure race.

Here's a quick look at the Center's estimates:

Campaign spending on TV ads in Oregon
RaceAmount Spent
GMO Labeling $9.8 million
U.S. Senate $7 million
Governor $2.4 million
Top Two Primary $2.4 million
Marijuana $2 million
Legislative $441,000

That totals $24 million.  Add in cable spending as well as ads for U.S. House candidates and local races and I wouldn't be surprised if we're approaching $30 million.  Given that easily over half of this money came from out-of-state donors, you could say that it was a net plus for the local economy.

-- Jeff Mapes

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