Miami: TV and radio are sold out

As one of the largest cities in the swing state of Florida, Miami is seeing a huge amount of political advertising.

It is sold out on TV and radio ahead of the Nov. 6 election.

Even after the election the market will remain strong throughout the remainder of 2012 and into next year as advertisers who have been shut out of the cluttered and expensive political landscape return to the market.

“This amount of political has caused many advertisers to look at inventory post-election, so demand will continue to be strong afterwards as well,” says Caitlin Zellmann, broadcast buyer at Haworth Marketing + Media.

Categories that will drive the market after political dies down include auto, financial, retail, restaurants, cell phones, travel and gas/oil. Retail will be particularly strong in November and December as advertisers try to get customers into stores for the holidays.

The one major category that hasn’t been very active in Miami is telecom, and that’s not expected to change in the near future.

One thing that has changed is the outlook for the Miami economy, which is good after the area’s long-struggling housing market finally bottomed out earlier this year.

In September Miami-Dade County pending home sales were up 40 percent year-to-year and 14.5 percent versus the previous month, according to the Miami Association of Realtors.

By comparison, the National Association of Realtors says pending home sales nationally were up 14.5 percent year-to-year and just 0.3 percent month-to-month.

Miami’s tight conditions aren’t contained to the Big Five TV networks.

“This speaks for both English Language and Spanish-language stations,” Zellmann says.

Miami is the nation’s No. 3 Hispanic TV market behind Los Angeles and New York, and that is evident when looking at its local TV ratings.

During the week ended Oct. 21, nine of the market’s top 20 TV programs on both broadcast and cable in total viewers aired on Spanish-language networks.

The market’s heavy advertising activity has trickled down to radio as well, with most stations and dayparts tight and very few deals to be found. As with TV, strong spending on radio will continue after the elections, led by auto and retail advertisers.

The radio market in Miami is diverse, with a number of different formats and stations performing well. Cox Radio has a strong presence, with four of the market’s top nine stations in September, including the top two.

Both of Cox’s top two stations have an urban format, with WHQT-FM No. 1 in September with a 9.8 portable people meter rating, according to Arbitron, and WEDR-FM No. 2 with a 6.4.

Hispanic radio is also strong in Miami. Three of the top 10 stations in September had a Spanish-language format, including Univision’s WAMR-FM (6.1 rating), Spanish Broadcasting System’s WCMQ-FM (4.3 rating) and Clear Channel’s WMGE-FM (3.5 rating).

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