Pa. ranks first in campaign TV revenue

With Pennsylvania a key battleground state and the election just weeks away, Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain are dropping major dollars on campaign ads in the Philadelphia TV market.

As a result, Pennsylvania ranks first in the country for campaign TV revenue, with $27 million being spent since mid-June, according to figures supplied by TNS Media Intelligence.

Ohio is a distant second at $23 million - $3 million ahead of Florida. McCain's $14 million outlay in the Keystone State tops his campaign; Obama's $13 million is second only to his spending in Florida, says TNS president Evan Tracey.

Pennsylvania, which went for Democrat John Kerry in 2004, "is a vital state, no matter how you divide up the huge chunk [23] of electoral votes," Tracey says.

"It's one of the few states that the McCain camp sees as a potential switch. Obama didn't win the primary there, and McCain may be able to pick up disaffected Hillary Clinton voters," he said.

TV-wise, Philadelphia and its suburbs are vital to winning Pennsylvania.

The fourth-largest TV market in the country, it includes Philadelphia, Montgomery, Chester and Delaware Counties as well as portions of South Jersey and Delaware. It represents 60 percent of the TV households in Pennsylvania, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Moreover, it is critical for campaigns looking to make inroads among suburban voters.

"The campaigns always target the three big [suburban] counties," says Judith LaFountaine, sales manager at NBC10.

McCain outspent Obama in Pennsylvania frequently over the summer, but in the last two weeks Obama has racheted up his output, particularly in Philadelphia.

From Sept. 15 through 28, he spent $3.2 million statewide, almost $2 million of it here. During the same period, McCain put out $2 million, about half to Philadelphia, Tracey says.

During the last week, the candidates together have paid out nearly $1.6 million in Philadelphia alone, according to public records, with Obama outspending McCain three to one.

"Things are heating up. The floodgates are opening," says political analyst Randall Miller of St. Joseph's University. "Some of the stations have been carping recently. They had anticipated more money sooner."

Here's why: In the just-completed third quarter, the campaign ad spending was down 24 percent in Philadelphia compared with the George W. Bush-Kerry race four years ago, public records say.

(Cable, however, is a different story. The candidates spent a total of $1.6 million here in the third quarter, compared with zero in 2004, according to Jim Gallagher, general manager of Comcast Spotlight.)

One reason spending is down overall in Pennsylvania, says local political consultant Neil Oxman, is that the number of battleground states has increased to 14 or 15 from eight or nine. That means campaigns have to spread their TV dollars over more states.

"Neither side is conceding states to the other side," Oxman says. "Democrats are advertising in places like North Carolina and Indiana. Republicans are fighting in places like Wisconsin, Minnesota and Oregon."

Another difference from 2004 is that there have been far fewer ads purchased by the Democratic and Republican National Committees and advocacy groups.

"People are spending their money on other things," Oxman says. "On the Democratic side, a lot of unions are putting money into field programs like voter registration."

Also, in 2004, the general election phase began in March. In 2008, Obama didn't nail the nomination until June. That means three fewer months of ad revenue.

The plummeting economy doesn't appear to have hurt the candidates, who are raising record amounts. In Oxman's view, campaigns are "recession proof."

"At this level, there's a fairly low ceiling on what individuals can give. When you have two million contributors like Obama and you're asking for 10, 20 bucks - that's the cost of a movie and dinner."

Six local stations share in the political bounty. Last week, Obama has been most bountiful to CBS3, with $343,000, or 30 percent of his market total.

Obama and McCain have made heavy buys during newscasts, whose viewers are older and tend to vote. Targeting women, McCain has spots in several daytime soaps and in syndicated shows like Oprah, Ellen and Dr. Phil.

Obama's hitting some of the same shows, along with football, to attract 25-to-54 year-old males.

In addition, Obama last week began airing 120-second spots, which sell for quadruple the rate of a typical 30-second ad. He ran more than $80,000 worth on CBS3 alone.

Miller says he's surprised by the timing of Obama's two-minute drills "because they're usually used to introduce a candidate, in some ways, and to create a narrative structure."

Strategically, however, Miller also sees them as a way for Obama "to reclaim his own biography, which has been lost since the [Republican] convention. Ironically, he's become somewhat invisible."

A two-minute Obama ad ran Tuesday night on Fox's new Fringe for $20,000, along with a 30-second spot for $5,000. McCain had one, also. An hour earlier, they each spent $15,500 on 30-second spots on Fox's hit House.

Next to Eagles broadcasts, that's chump change. The Birds are the most lucrative draw in town.

NBC10 commanded $30,000 for a 30-second spot on Sunday's Eagles-Bears game at 8:15 p.m. on NBC. Obama ran two ads and McCain one for a $90,000 payday for WCAU.

Fox29, which carries 10 Eagles games, notches $30,000 to $40,000 a 30-second pop. For today's 1 p.m. Fox home game against the Redskins, Obama ordered two and McCain one.

Fox29 expects an even bigger check when the Eagles play the Seahawks at 4:15 p.m. on Nov. 2 - two days before the election.