Over-the-air radio will earn 5% of all political dollars in local
BIA Advisory Service estimates $6.55 billion will be spent on local political advertising in 2020, with radio getting $312 million of local political advertising spend in 2020.The markets getting the largest radio spend are also the top 3 markets in size and total spend – Los Angeles, CA; New York, NY; and Chicago, IL.
While radio may not get a large share of political, the news isn’t all bad… at least in some markets. BIA forecasts over-the-air TV to take 47% of political ad dollars in 2020. How is that good for radio? In some markets, especially ones in Maine and Nevada, half of their total advertising revenue is forecast to come from political dollars. Markets in anticipated battleground or “purple” states will see many local advertisers unable to purchase OTA TV spots because of political, giving other media, including radio, an opportunity to win over some local advertisers. Besides Maine and Nevada, some markets in Kentucky, Arizona, and North Carolina may benefit as TV stations are forecast to get around 40% of their total ad dollars from political.
BIA’s new political advertising estimates will be provided to the firm’s BIA ADVantage clients. BIA ADVantage delivers local market advertising intelligence for 94 business categories, including political, for every TV and radio market in the nation. For information on how to subscribe or how to purchase the political forecast for a local market, email sales@bia.com. The local political advertising forecast can be purchased online here.
