Political ad spending has given a boost this year to stations in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina. But stations in all markets, particularly where there are competitive non-Presidential races, stand to make big gains in 2012, says Charles Taylor, who writes in Forbes that this year will see “8% to 9% growth for local television because of political ad spending”:
There are also many competitive gubernatorial contests around the country. And there’s an unusual level of attention being given to several Senate contests, given the potential of a Republican takeover of the Senate–in part a possibility because Democrats will have to defend a larger number of seats in this cycle. Combining these factors with additional spending on competitive state and local races and it is clear that many local stations are going to sell out their inventory of space for a longer period of time than is characteristic of a typical election.