POLITICAL AD SPENDING

Adage kicked off their 2022 campaign trail coverage with information from their Datacenter project; a partnership with Kantar/CMAG. The report includes detailed coverage for the five highest-spending states with US Senate campaigns across TV, radio, and digital: Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Alabama, and Wisconsin. To date (12/28/21 – 1/18/22), Republican spending ($37.2 million) is nearly five times that of the Democrats ($7.5 million). And while 34 US Senate seats are in play, this edition only looks at the five biggest-money races so far. Of note, Four of the five races are in play because the incumbents (all of whom are Republican) are retiring. (Adage requires subscription: 1/25/22)

NIELSEN ALTERNATIVES

Nielsen’s MRC accreditation loss has opened the doors to other companies, now “vying for a piece of the currency pie”. Citing the need for “audience measurement independence”, NBCU issued 54 RFPs to ad tech companies (they received over 100 responses), and just announced an extended multi-year agreement from iSpot.TV (a partner since 2014). The next phase in their relationship will be a “test and learn” which will include insights from the Winter Olympics and the Super Bowl; with new measurement tools intended to be used for the 2022/23 upfront. Other announcements include WarnerMedia’s partnership with iSpot.TV, VideoAmp, and Comscore; measuring audiences across linear, digital, and connected TV, and ViacomCBS’s partnership with VideoAmp. (Forbes: 1/20/22)

FOOTBALL IS IN THE AIR

Spring is around the corner and that can only mean one thing …. Football?! While no “legal” connection to the football league that operated in the 1980s, the new USFL is currently scheduled to launch on April 16th with a primetime broadcast on both NBC and Fox (airing the same commercials); demonstrating the “commitment to making spring football succeed.” The matchup between the New Generals and the Birmingham Stallions will be played in Alabama. After the inaugural simulcast, the 43 regular-season and post-season games will air on NBC and Fox networks. (TVNewscheck: 1/25/22)

NOT JUST NATIONAL
The NFL continues to dominate; on local and on streaming as well. According to Hearst, the station group carrying the Kansas City/Buffalo game, “90% of those watching television in the Kansas City market watched the last fifteen minutes of the Chiefs game…That’s nearly 60% of the population and that’s just what was counted!” The Bengals-Titans Divisional Playoff game became the most-streamed Saturday sporting event ever on Paramount+. (Radio + Television Business Report requires subscription: 1/25/22)

DOLLY PARTON’S SOUTHERN STYLE

Dolly Parton dropped in on the Today Show to promote her new partnership with Duncan Hines: beginning with two southern-style cake mixes and frostings. She also shared her recipes for Banana Pudding Cake and Coconut Cake. While the entire line has already sold out on the Dunkin Hines website, they’ll soon be available in stores. But there’s more … she’s also putting out new music and writing a book. (Today Show: 1/26/22)