Court Ruling Invites a Boom in Political Ads

Under the Supreme Court decision, corporations and unions will be free to spend money on attack ads in ways that were previously banned. “This takes an already bulked-up, well-funded election and puts it on steroids,” said Evan Tracey, the chief operating officer of the Campaign Media Analysis Group, a division of TNS Media Intelligence.

Election advertising is especially critical this year, given the beating that local stations have taken in the downturn. Exacerbating the economic pressures, the lack of political ad dollars last year meant that many stations experienced 30 percent declines in ad revenue, according to the Television Bureau of Advertising.

With the relaxed rules, hundreds of millions of dollars could be at stake. Mr. Lanzano’s group recently revised upward its projection of 2010 election revenue for local stations, to $1.8 billion from $1.5 billion.