Cleveland: Tight
and getting more so
Demand is already up and political advertising is now kicking
By Diego Vasquez
Jan 23, 2012
Cleveland, the largest city in Ohio, is a healthy market that is already experiencing increased spending and tight inventory fueled partly by strong demand in financial and health-related categories.
It's also experiencing a political spending crunch that is expected to generate nearly $50 million for the market this year.
Last month, Ohio state lawmakers decided to move their primary from June to March. The lowest-unit-rate political window just opened, but the TV market in Cleveland was already seeing plenty of political activity in the weeks before it began.
"Political experts are estimating that Cleveland alone will top $50 million for broadcast TV," says Debra Potts, who buys the market for Harmelin Media.
"However, since the primary window has moved since this estimate [was issued], I would estimate that it would not be quite this high but close--maybe around $45 to $48 million."
Stations are estimating that TV spending this year will be up 10 to 15 percent, with much of that due to campaign spending. Pricing is also up this year, including double-digit increases in high-demand dayparts such as news.
But political won't be the only factor in what should be a strong year in Cleveland.
"It seems like other categories are increasing spending as well," says Steve Krone, a media buyer at Starcom USA. "Banking, healthcare and insurance have all been consistently active."
Auto will also be a major contributor to the healthy conditions, according to Potts.
"Automotive is always a factor for the Ohio market. The last two weeks of every month are always tight since these are usually the auto weeks," she says.
"With both political and auto in the two- to three-week period prior to both the primary and general election in November, clearance will require premium rates."
The earlier primary date should mean less-tight TV conditions in Cleveland during the second quarter of the year, which will not see the political crunch that first quarter will.
"We think that it will open up in Q2 and Q3 a little bit, at least until the political window kicks in again," Krone says. "Hopefully that will open things up for late March."
But conditions will tighten again in the second half of third quarter due to the Olympics as well as the return of political spending ahead of the Nov. 6 general election.
"The Summer Olympics are typically heavily purchased by political, since most political buys are placed using the 50-plus or adults 35-64 demos," says Potts. "And over 60 percent of the Olympics' audience is over the age of 50."
She says other sporting events may be the best bet for non-political advertisers hoping to stand out on TV in Cleveland among the campaign advertising clutter.
"Political does not typically buy a lot of MLB, NFL or NASCAR," she says.
The radio market in Cleveland is also healthy, with spending this year expected to increase high-single to low-double-digits.
News-talk stations will get some political dollars, but the bulk of the spending increases will be from other advertisers moving away from higher-priced TV inventory. Buyers say January has been tight with pricing up 5 to 10 percent versus last year, and that's expected to be the case for much of 2012.
Note: Local ad spending data for the Cleveland market was unavailable at press time.
This article is reprinted from the Media Economy Newsletter. You can subscribe by following this
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