Ad rates sky-high for ballot measures

Sacramento Bee ^ | 10/24/5 | Kevin Yamamura

[SmithL]

Forget soccer moms and NASCAR dads. This election is about "Desperate Housewives."

Campaigns have raised more than $215 million this year largely for the sake of wedging 30-second sound bites between your favorite television shows leading into the Nov. 8 statewide special election.

In a twist to make TV stations even more giddy, none of this year's issue-based campaigns can buy advertising at the federally mandated discount enjoyed by candidates.

That means rates have gone skyward - so much that political consultant Bill Carrick reports one 30-second spot on "Desperate Housewives" in the nation's No. 2 market, Los Angeles, is selling for as much as $110,000.

No campaign has bit at that price, Carrick said. But it's the first time he can recall a potential six-figure price tag for a political ad in California.

"It's one of these perfect storms," said Carrick, who is working for opponents of Proposition 77, the redistricting measure. "There's a new season. There's a new (local) ratings process in some markets where stations are charging more because they say they have a more accurate reflection of ratings. And there are long-term campaigns being run by the pharmaceutical industry and the (union-backed) alliance. Advertising is essentially a pure barter system - and as people grab more and more inventory, the prices go higher."

In the Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto market (No. 19 in the nation), the most expensive spot so far is the "Desperate Housewives" episode two days before the election on Channel 10. The pharmaceutical coalition is paying $30,000 for 30 seconds of advertising, according to station records.

Close behind is "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," selling for $26,000 at Channel 13, a price paid by campaigns fighting against the governor's initiatives on teacher tenure and union dues.

[SmithL]

Ca-ching!