The Supreme Court And Media Cost

by Scott Sussman

In a 5-4 Supreme Court ruling last week, corporations will now be allowed to contribute unlimited funds to political campaigns. Corporations can also run their own political ads for the candidate they support. No matter what your personal belief is on this issue, it will have a direct impact on the cost to purchase television time. Admittedly, this may not be the first thing you think of when reading about this decision, unless you are a media buyer. During every election, candidates gobble up huge blocks of ad time. If possible and marketing conditions permitting, Tinsley Advertising tries to avoid these time periods. While it was not the intent of the high court to drive up the cost of television time, it will have that direct effect. This will especially affect Florida, Ohio and New York; states that usually have competitive elections. October and November will be interesting periods to watch from a media cost perspective.