Will Anti-Trump TV Advertising Bring More Money For Stations?

A media critique by Wayne Friedman, Staff Writer Friday, March 4, 2016 TV stations, and other media platforms, must be licking their big advertising lips over the prospect of more  anti-Trump advertising. This won’t come just in the next two weeks of important primaries -- but perhaps in the weeks leading up to the Republican convention in Cleveland in the summer. Overall political advertising spend could hit $6 billion this year, according to Wells Fargo Securities estimate -- with digital media looking to grab $650 million of that total. Republican political action committees have already been ramping up efforts for a Republican presidential victory. But now there could be more work to be done -- especially if reports are to be believed that a massive amount of additional TV advertising spending will be going into finding a way to stop Donald Trump from being the Republican presidential candidate. Les Moonves, CBS chairman/CEO,  for one, has been cheering on all seemingly wild political TV advertising efforts -- especially the presidential efforts:  "It may not be good for America, but it's damn good for CBS.” And it could get more complex. Should the Republican party find a way to somehow displace Trump as its leading candidate through a so-called “brokered” convention, an already unpredictable Donald Trump may find his way to run as a third-party candidate. And that will also take more money, including media dollars. To date, Trump has spent little for TV advertising. Instead, he’s  garnered much “earned media” through his high-rated debate appearances as well as TV news networks’ almost nonstop coverage of him -- interviews as well as countless programming hours devoted to pundit’s Trump analysis. If the presidential campaign winds up being a three-person race into November, all parties will need to make even greater efforts to get their message across. Shouting will be optional. So TV and other media platforms will be waiting -- with open arms.