Politics

The Party Line

The Party Line is dedicated to examining regional issues and policies through the figures who give shape to them. These are critical, complex, and even downright confusing times we live in. There’s a lot to navigate nationally and in the Carolinas; whether it’s elections, debates on gay marriage, public school closings, or tax incentives for economic development. The Party Line’s goal is to offer a provocative, intelligent look at the issues and players behind the action; a view that ultimately offers the necessary insight for Carolina voters to hold public servants more accountable.

Had Enough Presidential Ads? Prepare For Increase

WFAE | By Michael Bitzer

Published September 13, 2012 at 12:46 PM EDT

We know that North Carolina continues to be in the crosshairs of the presidential campaign; NBC News conducted an analysis of both spent and booked advertising, on television and radio. Only Ohio, Virginia, and Florida came in ahead of North Carolina in terms of advertising dollars.

But if you look at the total amount of money spent just on television (not including future advertising dollars already locked in), North Carolina is third, according to an analysis by Kantor Media/CMAG.

Leading the pack with the most television advertising spent so far is Florida, with nearly $80 million flooding the state, followed by Ohio with nearly $62 million spent. North Carolina comes in close behind with $59.2 million followed by our neighbor to the north (Virginia) with $51.7 million.

Those four states account for nearly 60 percent of all television advertising in the presidential campaign so far.

And the Charlotte market is at the top of the list, with nearly $26 million spent on television advertising.

Since last October when Cantor Media/CMAG began compiling these figures, the weekly trendline of spending in North Carolina has been pretty steady, especially after the state’s May 7^{th primary when Romney solidified his hold on the GOP nomination.}

Within North Carolina’s media markets, Raleigh comes in second at over $10 million.

Considering that these numbers are through August 26, and we still have another two months to go with the general campaign, we could easily see the total amount for North Carolina double.

And with the state still a “coin-toss” race between Obama and Romney, we should all get ready. The advertising fire hose is about to be turned on full blast.