Advertising During Dems’ Convention Tops RNC Ads

ABC, CBS, and NBC aired almost three times more TV advertising during the Democratic National Convention than during the Republican National Convention, Nielsen Monitor-Plus reported Friday.

The three networks aired more than 36 minutes of commercials, including promotional announcements and public service announcements, during the DNC — compared with just 13 minutes of commercials during the GOP convention, according to Nielsen.

Of the three networks, CBS aired the most advertising during both conventions.

Network	# of Commercial Minutes Democratic Convention (mm:ss)	# of Commercial Minutes Republican Convention (mm:ss)
ABC	9:36	4:48
CBS	15:48	5:30
NBC	11:00	2:54
Total	36:24	13:12
Source: The Nielsen Company (August 25 – 28, 2008 and September 2 – 4, 2008).
Note: Commercial Minutes include Promos and PSAs.

John McCain’s campaign ran 74% more ads during the Republican convention (11,845) than during the Democratic National Convention (6,791).  In contrast, Barack Obama’s campaign maintained consistent levels of advertising during both conventions (10,756 during the Democratic convention; 10,468 during the GOP convention).

Both parties’ committees ran more advertising during the opposing party’s convention than during their own.  The Republican National Committee Campaign ran 1,787 commercials during the Democratic Convention, but only 442 during the Republican Convention, while the Democratic National Committee Campaign aired 2,553 ads during the Republican Convention, but only 2,046 during the Democratic Convention. 

Political organizations, including “527” groups, ran approximately the same number of ads during both conventions: 22,245 spots during the Democratic convention and 25,767 during the GOP convention.

Political Advertiser / 527 Group	# of Spot TV Ads Week Of Democratic Convention	# of Spot TV Ads Week Of Republican Convention
AFL-CIO Union	81	48
Democratic Nat’l Committee Campaign	2,046	2,553
John McCain Campaign for President	6,791	11,845
MoveOn.Org	472	–
Barack Obama Campaign for President	10,756	10,468
Republican Nat’l Committee Campaign	1,787	442
SEIU Union	58	–
Sierra Club Organization	7	17
Vote Vets Action Fund Organization	247	394
Total	22,245	25,767
Source: The Nielsen Company (August 25 – 28, 2008 and September 1 – 4, 2008).