Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

The Policy Racket

Nevadans will be bombarded with political ads on TV

Prepare to be inundated on the airwaves. With just under five months to go until Election Day, Nevada is the top-ranked state for campaign spending per voter on television ads, according to numbers compiled by Kantar Media’s Campaign Media Analysis Group and reported in the National Journal on Monday.

The firm analyzed the total ad buys, dividing the dollar amounts being spent by the number of electoral college votes each state has. That put Nevada on top, with about $677,332 being spent per electoral vote. That far exceeds Iowa’s $496,088.

But it’s not just because we’re a small state that we’re pulling so much comparative coin — Nevada falls to just third place in the nation when it comes to the total amount of television ad dollars that have been spent in the state. We’re tied with Pennsylvania, and ahead of battlegrounds Colorado and Florida. Only in Virginia and Ohio are the campaigns spending more.

The numbers suggest — if you couldn’t guess it already — that television is going to become a very politically charged place in the final months of the campaign. About 90 percent of the state’s population lives within two major media markets: Las Vegas, where commercials come at a premium, and Reno, where they’re still (relatively) cheaper.

For charts, tables and a full rundown, check out National Journal’s full interview with Kantar/CMAG’s experts at the link above.

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