Political advertising swamps Las Vegas airwaves

With Election Day still six weeks away and Nevada holding firm to its position as a battleground state, there seems to be no end to the amount of money candidates are willing to pay for political advertising on Las Vegas television stations.

The spending spree is being driven by a tight U.S. Senate race, four House campaigns and a presidential race that remains close in most polls.

"This is one of the busiest political seasons ever," said Lisa Howfield, general manager of KSNV-TV, Channel 3. "This is something we've never seen before. I expect more spending as long as Nevada remains a crucial state."

How crucial?

Marci Ryvicker, a senior analyst who tracks political spending with Wells Fargo Securities, ranks Las Vegas fourth on her list of top five markets for political ad buys, with more than $32.1 million spent as of Sept. 9. Las Vegas, the nation's 42nd-largest television market, ranked 11th in political advertising dollars as a percentage of total market revenue, at 17.8 percent. Reno, the 108th market, ranked 17th, with 15.7 percent.

Ryvicker said year-to-date political spending through local stations in all television markets hit $887.7 million on Sept. 9. Add in network and national sports, and political spending on broadcast TV hit $1.04 billion, with much more to come as Election Day draws near.

Howfield said that despite the continuous loop of political ads, advertising time on KSNV is not sold out. The same is the case for all Las Vegas broadcasters.

She said the most popular times for political ads are during local newscasts, "Jeopardy" and "Wheel of Fortune."

"Daytime has become popular, as well," she said. Neither she nor any other station official in Las Vegas would say if they charge more for political spots than they would normally charge any other advertiser.

Between Aug. 22 and Aug. 28, Mitt Romney's campaign for president spent $73,325 on advertising with KSNV, according to invoices filed with the Federal Election Commission. Advertising rates on the NBC affiliate range from $325 to $2,000 for a 30-second political advertisement, depending on the time of day.

During the reporting period, the Romney campaign purchased six 30 second spots during the 6 to 7 a.m. hour of local news at $1,000 each. A 30-second commercial during "Jeopardy" cost $1,300, while 30 seconds during prime time Saturday runs $2,000.

President Barack Obama's re-election campaign spent $14,400 with KSNV from Aug. 27 to Aug. 30.

At KVVU-TV, Channel 5, Las Vegas' Fox affiliate, general sales manager Todd Brown said spending on political ads is "a little better than anticipated." Brown expected additional spending, although he declined to discuss station rates or revenues.

According to invoices on file with the FCC, the Romney campaign spent $31,022.12 with KVVU, while it spent $138,189.42 with KLAS-TV, Channel 8, from Aug. 22 to Aug. 28.

Candidates, advocacy groups that support them and other special interest groups have spent hundreds of millions of dollars on local TV ads nationwide and in Las Vegas. A large amount of the money spent during the 2012 campaign season comes from political action groups, including Crossroads GPS, Democracy for America and New Democrat Coalition.

The PACs are taking advantage of a 2010 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that eased restrictions on campaign financing. The ruling in Citizens United versus the Federal Election Commission said corporate funding of independent political ads in elections were "free speech," and cannot be limited.

The U.S. Senate race between incumbent Republican Dean Heller and Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley has also seen plenty of spending by PACs as well as by the campaigns.

In regulatory filings, Heller's campaign spent $43,625 on ad buys at KSNV between Aug. 27 and Sept. 11. Berkley's campaign spent $35,900 on ads with KSNV between Aug. 27 and Sept. 10.

Ramiro Lopez, station manager with Telemundo affiliate KBLR-TV, said the Spanish-language station saw no political ad buys in the first half of the year, but that business is picking up "as we get closer to Election Day." As of Friday, no invoices had been filed with the FCC by KLBR, the Telemundo affiliate.

Contact reporter Chris Sieroty at csieroty@review journal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @ sierotyfeatures on Twitter.