Political AD spending could reach almost $7 billion

ORLANDO, Fla. — On TV, online, on the radio, central Florida voters are getting bombarded with political ads; and it may only get worse in the next 10 weeks.

“I could see us passing 7 billion dollars especially if this race remains tight and there could be some tightening especially post-convention,” says Ben Taber of Advertising Analytics.

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Because of its size and trove of electoral votes (29) Florida is poised to see a significant amount of ad spending from now until Election Day, but not all of the state we’ll see the same level of spending.

The Orlando and Tampa markets are expected to receive $225-million in ad spending, with Tampa projected to see $113 million in spending and Orlando receiving $108 million.

Taber says these numbers would be higher, but Florida does not have any statewide races in 2020 and almost none of the 27-congressional districts are expected to be competitive.

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“Biden and Trump have both raised tremendous amounts of money, America First (GOP PAC) and Priorities USA (Dem PAC) have put in a lot of money,” says Taber. “We are seeing a lot more states in play and so maybe Florida’s not getting quite the attention we expected, but Florida is by far the largest state in terms of presidential spending we’re looking at $145 million so far for the general election, Pennsylvania is behind but it’s over $30 million behind.”

Will the bulk of the spending is on broadcast and cable, digital is expected to be almost $100 million more than it was in 2018. But as Taber notes, the digital spending is in addition to television and broadcast, noting that campaigns and parties are increasing spending on traditional media too.

See the full analysis below:

Cox Media Group