Long before ballots go out, political spending in Colorado is skyrocketing — far exceeding recent elections and setting off an advertising feeding frenzy that’s seen millions of dollars funneled to local TV stations.
More than five days (or 120 hours) of 30-second spots — nearly 15,000 in all — have already been booked for the last five weeks of the campaign on Denver TV stations, according to a Denver Post review of hundreds of contracts. They’re worth $19.6 million.
But in political spending, not every dollar is created equal. As seemingly infinite money meets the finite limits of airtime, national parties and outside super PACs consistently pay steep premiums to get on the air.
The deluge, fed by tight races and an infusion of outside money, causes problems for local advertisers: They can’t compete with the top-dollar rates political groups pay, and because of the way federal rules are written, they’re less likely to be cut a deal.
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“It’s like funny money at some point,” said April Thayer, founder of Denver ad-buying firm Thayer Media. “They have to be on.”
In state and federal races alike, total spending — not just television advertising buys — on this year’s election has gone up compared with the last midterm election in 2010.
State races, including ballot initiatives and the gubernatorial election, have seen an increase of 92 percent, to $37.4 million, from January to July.
Outside groups’ spending on U.S. Senate and House races was up 149 percent, to $6.4 million, over the same period.
And candidates for those offices spent 23 percent more themselves — $10 million total — in the first two quarters of the year.
The television ads already bought in Denver favor Democratic candidates: For every dollar conservative groups and candidates have committed, Democrats have at least $1.56. Overall, more than three-quarters of the planned spending comes from national parties and outside groups.
Exactly where that money ends up is difficult to ascertain. Most ad buying is handled through third-party firms that don’t have to say what they buy, and some firms offer a host of other services, too, further obscuring spending.
Still, the bulk of political spending is focused on TV ads. Campaigns are still drawn to television’s large, captive audiences, even as DVRs and the Internet have cut into its reach.
And nationally, campaign spending has exploded since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 ruling in Citizens United, which sanctioned spending from outside groups like super PACs.
The rise of outside money has led to bidding wars that send ad rates higher because such groups will pay top dollar for airtime, said Elizabeth Wilner, senior vice president of media monitoring group Kantar Media.
Political candidates, by contrast, are guaranteed the lowest rate that a TV station offers any of its clients.
If a station were to offer a regular advertiser a special rate, federal law would require it to offer that rate to candidates, too. That provision doesn’t apply to political parties or outside groups like super PACs.
On KUSA, Denver’s NBC affiliate, and KCNC, its CBS station, the Democratic Party is paying an average of 50 percent more than Sen. Mark Udall for spots on the same programs. Senate Majority PAC, a group that backs Democrats, is paying 59 percent more, according to an analysis of the stations’ records.
In one case, the PAC spent six times more than Udall, paying $2,000 for a 30-second spot on CBS’s noon newscast for which Udall paid $325.
Mark Cornetta, general manager of KUSA and KTVD, said he wouldn’t discuss campaign spending. His counterparts at KDVR, KCNC and KMGH didn’t return interview requests.
The law also says that TV stations have to give candidates an equal chance to buy time. If a station sells ads to one candidate in a race, it has to sell space to competitors, too.
Even so, those candidates and the groups that support them have an incentive to buy early. Getting on the air is like buying a plane ticket: Booking early often earns lower rates and a better spot.
That’s why buying ads early isn’t a new idea. Campaigns have been doing it “probably since the beginning of time,” said Mara Sheldon, spokeswoman for Coloradans for Safe and Clean Energy.
This year, though, competition for space like the 100 hours already booked in Denver is picking up amid growing outside spending, said Tracy Broderick, vice president of media for Denver ad firm Karsh Hagan.
Broderick, who represents nonpolitical clients, used to make her election-year plans a few months in advance. Now, she makes plans a year early.
Increasingly, she said, booking happens earlier, it floods more of the year and it’s harder to predict.
For regular advertisers, the deluge poses particular problems.
TV stations try to protect their most loyal clients, but as the campaign goes on, airtime grows tight and outside groups’ offers go up. Eventually, it can be too much money for the stations to turn down, Thayer said.
And because candidates for office are guaranteed stations’ lowest rates, the stations become less and less willing to offer advertisers special rates, Wilner said.
As a result, Thayer and Broderick advise their clients in Colorado to avoid TV during campaign season.
There’s too much risk, they say, of paying too much for space or being bumped off the air, especially if you’ve planned a time-sensitive sale or promotion, they said.
And after seeing campaign ad after campaign ad, it’s too likely that viewers will tune out advertising altogether.
“Every break is back-to-back-to-back, and occasionally, if you’re lucky, you get a pharma ad or a car ad,” Thayer said. “It can be a mess.”
Thad Moore: 303-954-1902, tsmoore@denverpost.com or twitter.com/thadmoore
The majority of ads reserved on Denver TV stations back Democrats, and more than three-quarters of the spending comes from outside groups.
Democrats: $11,129,165
Republicans: $7,118,090
Unspecified: $1,341,100
Top five buyers
National Republican Congressional Committee: $2,433,875
Senate Majority PAC (D): $2,303,100
Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee: $2,149,800
Republican Attorneys General Association: $1,485,300
National Republican Senatorial Committee: $1,364,430
Source: TV station records, as of Aug. 13
