Donald Trump is supposed to be all about the deal. But BuzzFeed News reports the Republican presidential candidate is paying more for his local ads than other candidates.
“For instance on the ABC-affiliate in Cleveland,” reports BuzzFeed. “Trump is paying a rate around three times higher than Bernie Sanders for orders placed on the same day and for the same three time slots: the 6 p.m. news, ABC’s World News, and Good Morning America. Trump is paying $1,500 to Sanders’s $400 for 6 p.m., $2,000 to Sanders’s $600 for ABC’s World News, and $1,400 to Sanders’s $550 for Good Morning America.”
On that same Cleveland station, in the 6 p.m. news slot and World News, the Trump campaign is paying double the rate of John Kasich’s super PAC, even though by law federal candidates have access to the lowest unit rate available, giving them an upper hand in negotiations over so-called issue advertisers.
AdvertisementOn the CBS-affiliate, also in Cleveland, Trump is paying hundreds more for ads than both Sanders and Clinton in three time slots. In Cincinnati, on the ABC station there, Trump is paying a significantly higher rate for ads in the 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. news slots than Clinton and Sanders.
Trump is paying $705 for 5 p.m. and $930 for 6 p.m. Sanders and Clinton are paying $440 and $580 for those same time slots.
The rate discrepancy is not isolated to broadcast. In one local cable buy on CNN in Cleveland, Trump paid hundreds more for ads throughout daytime and primetime than a similar buy from the Sanders campaign.