The latest problem with having such a high number of presidential candidates? Trying to squeeze in all their ad space.
Media executives are scrambling to accommodate the ever-growing field of GOP candidates who’ve begun to seek ad time on Fox News, according to the Associated Press.
The marketing company NCC Media has been steady at work trying to satisfy candidates’ growing demands for ad placements on the leading cable news network in addition to local broadcast stations in swing states like Iowa, Nevada and New Hampshire.
Tim Kay, NCC’s director of political advertising, described Fox as a “revenue driver” that most Republican candidates use to reach primary voters.
“There are so many candidates running that our concern is that there will not be enough ad space available,” Kay told the Washington Examiner. “We’re going to try to allocate as much inventory towards each candidate.”
According to Kay, NCC and other media companies are given an allocated amount of inventory — or ad space — to work with and they must strive to provide equal access to candidates in accordance with Federal Communications Commission rules.
“We want to be as fair as possible to make everyone happy so we don’t have a bidding war,” Kay said.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio — whose super PAC recently announced the extension of its $3 million ad campaign against President Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran on Fox — has already put up more than $12 million towards airing campaign ads in early primary states.
Because cable news networks typically offer a fraction of the time per hour for election messages and campaign ads, Wesleyan Media project executive Travis Ridout says, “There’s not enough [slots] to go around.”
Fox News is slated to host the first primary debate featuring the top 10 GOP presidential candidates on Aug. 6 in Cleveland.
