"SNF" viewers living in areas that are still considered battleground markets for the presidential election will see an increase in political advertisements this weekend, as media buyers for President Obama and Mitt Romney have stepped up their ad purchases over the past several days. It does not hurt that this Sunday’s Saints-Broncos matchup will be played in Colorado, still considered to be a toss-up state when election day rolls around. Fans watching KUSA-NBC’s coverage in Denver will see six spots: one from Obama, four from Romney and one from Republican PAC American Crossroads. Total cost to the buyers is $236,200. Over the past month, SBJ/SBD reviewed and analyzed more than 5,000 purchase orders, contracts and invoices filed with the FCC by stations in 21 markets covering nine battleground states from Aug. 2 to Oct. 12 -- documents that before a recent FCC mandate were available only by request at station offices. Our findings, published in this week’s SportsBusiness Journal, revealed that of the $13.59M spent during sports telecasts dating back to the Summer Olympics, nearly two-thirds was during NFL coverage.
| AD SPEND ON NBC AFFILIATES FOR SUNDAY'S "SNF" AND "FNIA" |
| CANDIDATE | # OF SPOTS | TIME (MINUTES) | SPEND |
| Obama | 19 | 12 | $193,550 |
| Romney | 19 | 6 | $203,750 |
| Republican PACs | 8 | 4 | $96,750 |
| MARKET (AFFIL) | CANDIDATE | # OF
SPOTS | TIME
(MINUTES) | SPEND |
| Denver (KUSA) | Obama | 1 | 1:00 | $60,000 |
| | Romney | 4 | 2:00 | $131,200 |
| | Republican PACs | 1 | 0:30 | $45,000 |
| Orlando (WESH) | Obama | 1 | 0:30 | $7,000 |
| | Romney | - | - | - |
| | Republican PACs | 1 | 0:30 | $20,000 |
| Tampa (WFLA) | Obama | 2 | 1:00 | $13,400 |
| | Romney | - | - | - |
| West Palm Beach (WPTV) | Obama | 2 | 1:30 | $9,250 |
| | Romney | 2 | 1:00 | $3,650 |
| Jacksonville (WTLV | Obama | 1 | 0:30 | $2,500 |
| | Romney | 1 | 0:30 | $1,600 |
| Winston-Salem (WXII) | Obama | 1 | 0:30 | $2,200 |
| | Romney | - | - | - |
| Raleigh (WNCN) | Obama | - | - | - |
| | Romney | - | - | - |
| | Republican PACs | 1 | 0:30 | $2,400 |
| Las Vegas (KSNV) | Obama | 1 | 1:00 | $20,000 |
| | Romney | 1 | 0:30 | $2,400 |
| | Republican PACs | 2 | 1:00 | $19,000 |
| Columbus (WCMH) | Obama | 3 | 1:30 | $12,200 |
| | Romney | NA | NA | NA |
| | Republican PACs | NA | NA | NA |
| Cleveland (WKYC) | Obama | 2 | 2:00 | $48,000 |
| | Romney | - | - | - |
| | Republican PACs | 1 | 0:30 | $4,000 |
| Cincinnati (WLWT) | Obama | 2 | 1:00 | $4,500 |
| | Romney | - | - | - |
| Portsmouth (WAVY) | Obama | 1 | 1:00 | $5,000 |
| | Romney | 5 | 2:30 | $20,400 |
| | Republican PACs | 1 | 0:30 | $1,800 |
| Milwaukee (WTMJ) | Obama | 2 | 1:00 | $9,500 |
| | Romney | 2 | 1:00 | $9,500 |
| | Republican PACs | 1 | 0:30 | $4,550 |
| Miami (WTVJ) | Obama | NA | NA | NA |
| | Romney | 4 | 2:00 | $35,000 |
NOTES: NA = FCC has not posted online the final paperwork for this week for that station.
