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State of the Screens

Sinclair: Political To Come ‘Hand Over Fist’ In 2020

By March 5, 2019No Comments

Quote from Steven Marks — EVP @ Sinclair Broadcast Group:
“Every other day there is somebody joining the race. It really bodes well for local broadcasters. There is going to be quite a robust fourth quarter [this year] and in 2020 we are not going to be able to get out of the way of the money. It’s going to be literally hand over fist.”

Sinclair ad revenue from political:
1)
2014 — $155M
2)
2016 — $206M
3)
2018 — $255M
4)
2020P — ?

Political ad spend by year according to Kantar CMAG:
1) 2014 — $3.0B
2) 2016 — $4.4B
3) 2018 — $5.3B

Compound annual growth rate between 2014–18:
1)
Political advertising — 15.50%
2)
All advertising — 6.25%

What if I told you: There was an advertising vertical that is growing at 2.5X the rate of national advertising and has received virtually $0 in venture capital funding…

2018 ad spend share (% of total):
1) Local broadcast — $3.1B (59%)
2) Local cable — $1.2B (23%)
3) Digital (all types) — $1.0B (18%)

Share of spend for digital in politics by cycle:
1) 2014–8%
2) 2016–15%
3) 2018–18%

Big shift: Major groups like Priorities USA are moving away from a “TV first” strategy and installing strategists with a digital background to oversee all video.

Flashback: Ad spending for the 2018 midterms reaches nearly $3 billion

More #1: Nexstar Revenues Soar 22% On Higher Political, Core Ads

More #2: OTT & Political Advertising: Lessons From The 2018 Midterms

More #3: Your phone and TV are tracking you, and political campaigns are listening in

Michael Beach

Michael Beach is the Chief Executive Officer of Cross Screen Media, a media analytics and software company that enables marketers to plan, activate, and measure CTV and linear TV at the local level. Michael is also the founder and editor of State of the Screens, a weekly newsletter focused on video advertising that is a must-read for thought leaders in the advertising industry. He has appeared in such publications as PBS Frontline, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Axios, CNBC and Bloomberg, and on NPR’s Planet Money podcast.