How Bloomberg’s spending is putting a squeeze on other candidates in North Carolina
They call it the “Bloomberg Effect.”
Massive TV spending by Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg is driving up the cost for other candidates in North Carolina and around the country, according to a new report.
Advertising Analytics, which tracks campaign media spending, says the billionaire former New York mayor has spent $7.7 million on TV advertising in the state — and driven up the cost by 23%. Politico reported that’s in line with what’s happening nationwide.
Bloomberg has spent a total of $304 million on advertising. Through December, he’d already eclipsed the record for self-financing, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. And The New York Times reported Tuesday that he plans to double his TV spending in markets where he is currently on the air.
“Amid this huge spending spike, North Carolina broadcasters are clearly responding like rational market actors by raising rates for all candidates when Bloomberg spends,” John Link, a company vice president, said in the report.
“In fact, higher spending tends to lead to higher rates statewide,” he added. “(M)arket rates rose a dollar for every $1,100 that Bloomberg spent. Considering he spent a total of $7M, this is not insignificant.”
Unlike virtually every other Democratic candidate, Bloomberg bypassed Iowa, New Hampshire and other early states to focus on North Carolina’s March 3 primary and 15 other Super Tuesday contests.
He opened his first state headquarters in the country in Charlotte and has a paid staff of more than 100 in the state — far more than any other presidential candidate. By comparison, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren has more than 30. Former Vice President Joe Biden has a single paid staffer.
Bloomberg and businessman Tom Steyer have dominated the airwaves in North Carolina. An analysis by FiveThirtyEight shows Bloomberg’s current spending doubles that of Steyer and far surpasses that of any other candidate.
“Mike Bloomberg is focused on making sure we reach voters throughout the state, as North Carolina is vital to his campaign to beat Donald Trump,” said spokeswoman LaToya Evans. “We’re also working hard to invest in local independently and minority-owned news outlets, which are important to North Carolina’s economy.”
‘Running the price up’
In its report, Advertising Analytics included WYFF, a Greenville-Spartanburg-based station. That’s because its market reaches into 14 North Carolina counties, including Buncombe and the city of Asheville.
The report found that Steyer paid WYFF $400 for a spot during the 5 p.m. news last fall. A week after Bloomberg entered the race in November, the same spot costs $450. A station official could not be reached for comment.
Steyer, like Bloomberg a billionaire, isn’t the only candidate feeling the effect.
“He’s running the price up,” Bill Toole, one of six Democrats running for lieutenant governor, said of Bloomberg. “It makes it hard for folks in the less well-known races which are every bit as important for North Carolina.”
Politico reported that Bloomberg’s $1.2 million ad buy in Houston pushed ad prices there up 45% for at least one mayoral candidate.
“It actually is fairly simple — there are a lot more people buying TV time so there’s less of it to go around,” said Jordan Shaw, a Republican media consultant. “Everyone should have an expectation that media costs are going to be exponentially higher than they’ve ever been.”
Money already has helped make a difference for one candidate.
Steyer has spent $14 million advertising in South Carolina, according to Advertising Analytics. That’s 14 times more than Bloomberg in the state and far more than better-known candidates. It helped him vault to third place with 18% support in a recent poll by The Post and Courier in Charleston.
Record spending expected
For TV stations, Bloomberg could be the canary in the goldmine.
As a competitive state in a presidential year with contested races for the U.S. Senate, governor and other statewide offices, North Carolina is guaranteed to see more big spending.
In 2014 a then-national record $121 million was spent in the U.S. Senate race between Republican Thom Tillis and Democratic incumbent Kay Hagan. That record has since been eclipsed as campaigns and outside groups drive up the cost of elections.
“I expect that trend line to continue in 2020 and I expect North Carolina to be the state that breaks (the record) again,” said Paul Shumaker, Tillis’ general consultant. “We expect to see prices increases of 60% over what we paid 2014.”
That doesn’t appear to have happened yet in the Charlotte area.
Lisa Purpura, a vice president and media director for the Charlotte advertising firm LGA, said in a supply-and-demand business, there’s still supply.
“When supply gets really, really low that’s where rates shoot up,” she said. “I do expect that we will see rate increases as we get closer to the election.”
Scott Dempsey, vice president and general manager of Charlotte’s WBTV, said the station’s ad costs haven’t changed because of Bloomberg’s spending. “It hasn’t been an issue,” he said. “We set aside inventory.”
But Bloomberg’s spending, Shumaker said, could be the harbinger of a flood of campaign spending in the state that squeezes the budgets of candidates up and down the ballot.
“He’s a foreshadowing of events to come,” said Shumaker.
NC co-chairs
Bloomberg’s campaign has named former Bank of America Chairman Hugh McColl Jr. one of its state co-chairs.
He joins former Sierra Club head Molly Diggins, community activist Astrid Chirinos and Andrea Harris, a senior fellow of the North Carolina Institute of Minority Economic Development.
This story was originally published February 5, 2020 at 5:30 AM.
