Nielsen Monitor-Plus Reports on Political Advertising Activity for Mid-Term Elections

Nielsen Monitor-Plus Reports on Political Advertising Activity for Mid-Term Elections

Number of Local Spots up 31% from 2002

RNC and DNC Nearly Equal in Ad Activity for Local TV

NEW YORK, Nov. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- With the 2006 mid-term elections just around the corner, Nielsen Monitor-Plus, the advertising intelligence service of Nielsen Media Research, today reported on recent political advertising activity for local campaigns nationwide. In the U.S., a total of 942,900 local television spots ran during an eleven week period (August 1-October 15), up by 31% from a comparable time period during the 2002 mid-term elections. Over 95% of all measured political advertising is on local television.

Collectively this year, the two biggest advertisers are the Republican National Committee (RNC) and the Democratic National Committee (DNC). The RNC and the DNC have more than doubled their activity in local television. The RNC ran over 56,000 spots across 86 television markets, while the DNC ran over 54,000 spots across 101 television markets. For the comparable 2002 time period, the RNC ran 29,338 local TV spots and the DNC ran 19,197 spots.

"Political advertising increases this mid-term election year can be attributed to two main factors: Together the RNC and the DNC have shown a 130% increase in ad activity over 2002, and there has also been significant growth in advertising related to the various ballot initiatives across the country," said Brian Lane, SVP, Client Strategy and Product Marketing for Nielsen Monitor-Plus.

Top Markets

The chart below highlights the top 10 local TV markets that had political commercials this year. Each of the markets had at least 10,000 ads for a total of 154,950 local TV spots. Tampa-St. Petersburg led the way with 19,730 spots, mainly for Governor and Congressional races, and Los Angeles was second with 17,257 spots.

Top 10 Local TV Markets
(August 1 - October 15)

Market Local TV- Races/Political Parties/
Units Ballot Initiatives
Tampa-St. Petersburg 19,730 Governor, Congress,
(Florida) U.S. Senate
Los Angeles (California) 17,257 Ballot Initiative, RNC, DNC,
Governor
San Francisco-Oak- 15,768 Ballot Initiative, RNC, DNC
San Jose (California)
Boston (Massachusetts) 15,556 Governor
Providence-New Bedford 15,217 U.S. Senate, Governor,
(Rhode Island) Ballot Initiative
Columbus OH (Ohio) 14,681 RNC, DNC, Congress, Governor
West Palm Beach- 14,534 Governor, Congress, RNC
Ft. Pierce (Florida)
Phoenix (Arizona) 14,172 U.S. Senate
Washington DC 14,028 Maryland & Virginia Senate,
Maryland Governor
Green Bay-Appleton 14,012 Congress, Governor
(Wisconsin)
Total Top 10 154,950

Source: Nielsen Monitor-Plus

Key U.S. Senate and Governor Races

Fifty-five percent of all activity was for either a U.S. Senator or a Governor race, and the charts below highlight some of this year's most discussed U.S. Senate and Governor races. For the key U.S. Senate races, Tennessee's candidate, Bob Corker leads with the most local TV spots (12,007) and Missouri's candidate, Jim Talent, leads with the most local radio spots (985). In the Governor's races, Florida's candidate, Charlie Crist, has aired 21,214 local TV spots, followed closely by Michigan's Dick DeVos with 20,093 local TV spots. Candidate Crist also aired the most local radio spots (1,711).

Key U.S. Senate Races

(Local TV reflects activity August 1- October 15)
(Local Radio reflects activity August 1- October 1)

Local
Local TV Radio
State Candidate Units Units
Arizona Kyl* 7,934 370
Arizona Pederson 10,432 0
Connecticut Lieberman* 1,371 16
Connecticut Schlesinger 0 0
Connecticut Lamont 1,507 15
New Jersey Menendez* 1,762 452
New Jersey Kean 442 123
Maryland Cardin 2,608 334
Maryland Steele 3,320 76
Michigan Stabenow* 8,686 0
Michigan Bouchard 5,717 0
Missouri Talent* 6,107 985
Missouri McCaskill 5,307 365
Ohio Dewine* 6,421 0
Ohio Brown 5,238 183
Pennsylvania Santorum* 9,850 625
Pennsylvania Casey 6,752 474
Rhode Island Chafee* 2,974 143
Rhode Island Whitehouse 2,520 0
Tennessee Ford 7,239 0
Tennessee Corker 12,007 811
Virginia Allen* 4,624 203
Virginia Webb 2,349 58

Total 113,796 5,217

Source: Nielsen Monitor-Plus
* Incumbent

Key Governor Races

(Local TV reflects activity August 1- October 15)
(Local Radio reflects activity August 1- October 1)

Local
Local TV Radio
State Candidate Units Units
Arkansas Hutchinson 1,173 0
Arkansas Beebe 3,386 0
California Schwarzenegger* 4,895 685
California Angelides 2,490 91
Florida Crist 21,214 1,711
Florida Davis 9,193 94
Illinois Blagojevich* 11,368 0
Illinois Topinka 4,096 24
Michigan Granholm* 10,813 120
Michigan DeVos 20,093 545
Oregon Kulongoski* 1,433 937
Oregon Saxton 4,643 838
Rhode Island Carcieri* 1,326 281
Rhode Island Fogarty 1,461 0

Total 97,584 5,326

Source: Nielsen Monitor-Plus
* Incumbent

Top Five Candidates By Office

The charts below show the top five advertisers based on number of advertisements placed on local television for Governor, U.S. Senator, and Congress. Collectively, the top five advertisers for these three categories have aired 139,794 local TV commercials. Charlie Crist and Dick DeVos, both gubernatorial candidates, ran the most ads, at 21,214 and 20,093 respectively.

Top 5 Candidates By Office State Local TV Units
(August 1 - October 15)

Charlie Crist for Governor Florida 21,214
Dick Devos for Governor Michigan 20,093
Rod Blagojevich for Governor Illinois 11,388
Eliot Spitzer for Governor New York 11,283
Jennifer Granholm for Governor Michigan 10,813
Total 74,791

Top 5 Candidates By Office State Local TV Units
(August 1 - October 15)

Bob Corker for U.S. Senate Tennessee 12,007
Jim Pederson for U.S. Senate Arizona 10,432
Rick Santorum for U.S. Senate Pennsylvania 9,850
Debbie Stabenow for U.S. Senate Michigan 8,686
Jon Kyl for U.S. Senate Arizona 7,934
Total 48,909

Local TV Units
Top 5 Candidates By Office
(August 1 - October 15)

Heather Wilson for Congress New Mexico 4,308
Tom Reynolds for Congress-BF New York 3,303
John Gard for Congress Wisconsin 2,875
Vern Buchanan for Congress Florida 2,841
Chris Chocola for Congress Indiana 2,767
Source: Nielsen Monitor-Plus Total 16,094

About Nielsen Media Research

Nielsen Media Research is the world's leading provider of television audience measurement and advertising information services. In the United States, Nielsen's National People Meter service provides audience estimates for all national program sources, including broadcast networks, cable networks, Spanish-language networks and national syndicators. Local ratings estimates are produced for television stations, regional cable networks, MSOs, cable interconnects and Spanish-language television stations in each of the 210 television markets in the U.S., including electronic metered services in 56 markets. For more information, visit www.nielsenmedia.com. Nielsen Media Research is part of VNU's Media Measurement & Information Group. VNU is a global information and media company with leading market positions and recognized brands in marketing information (ACNielsen), media information (Nielsen Media Research), business publications (Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Computing, Intermediair) and trade shows. The privately held company is active in more than 100 countries, with headquarters in Haarlem, the Netherlands, and New York, USA. VNU employs nearly 41,000 people. For more information, visit www.vnu.com

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Source: Nielsen Media Research

CONTACT: Media Contact: Laura Czaja of Nielsen Media Research,
+1-646-654-8681, or Laura.Czaja@nielsenmedia.com

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