COMMENTARY

Too Many Political Ads This Season? It Could Mean TV Stations Cashing In

• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, September 7, 2022

Too many TV commercials on TV? Well, that depends on your specific side of the equation.

Just talk to TV advertising executives. They want a lot more.

Kantar estimates local TV could get to $5.5 billion -- another new record. AdImpact says connected TV platforms will add another $1.4 billion.

Political advertising is a key part of any local TV station ad growth picture. But as you know, average citizens don't like it as much. YouGov, in a recent poll, asked if there were too many political ads on TV and got an obvious and predictable response: 64% said there were too many.

But the more revealing data showed that 5% said there were too few. Of course, we could assume those respondents were just a bunch of cheeky people, looking to get a rise.

Another 16% said their response was “about right” when it came to the number of TV political ads.

Even then, you wonder -- how do we define what is “about right,” please? Four per hour? Ten per hour? Thirty?

This type of survey makes you look for other wrinkles. Here’s one crease:

Which statement comes closer to your own view, even if neither is exactly right?

When someone gives $1 million to a super PAC…

-79% answered: “They want something big in return from the candidates they are trying to elect.”

- 21% answered: “They are simply supporting candidates with whom they agree, which is their right.”

So there’s skepticism? Well, that's good. Political polling has a lot of mystery attached to the process for many of us.

Some analysts feel Republican-inclined voters can shy away from pollsters, who perhaps should not be trusted -- while Democratic-inclined voters, on the other hand, are more happy to offer up their insights, and as a result, their data.

Social media has been further clouding up all these issues. Hard-liners will just call it mistrust and misinformation.

So whatever poll you see on television -- along with those TV commercials -- take it with a grain of salt. Or maybe a shakerful.

Perhaps a salt mine.