Nevada media big winner as election advertising soars

Tuesday, Nov. 3, 1998 | 11:23 a.m.

No matter who gets the most votes in today's general election, a big winner has already emerged: the local media.

Managers at local television and radio stations haven't finished counting the revenue from this year's election ad campaigns, but they already like what they see.

One station estimated revenues to be 35 percent higher than the amount collected in 1996. Another said his station grossed two to three times more than it had projected to take in.

Considering one television spot generates anywhere from $750 to $3,000, according to one manager, it's safe to say the 1998 general election is a multimillion-dollar proposition.

There are several reasons why the media hit the jackpot this year:

* It's not unusual for there to be two attention-getting races in one election, but in Nevada, there are three this year. There's a House vote every two years, but a gubernatorial race occurs only once every four years and Senate races occur in six-year cycles.

* The three high-profile races are much closer than analysts originally anticipated. The U.S. Senate race between Democrat Harry Reid and Republican John Ensign has turned out to the biggest of the races. The lead Republican Kenny Guinn had over Democrat Jan Jones in the gubernatorial race has evaporated, resulting in more last-minute ads. The House seat sought by Republican Don Chairez and Democrat Shelley Berkley also has been hotly contested with special-interest groups also entering the fray.

* Of the six major candidates in the three high-profile races, only one is an incumbent, Reid. That invites a greater number of comparisons -- and attack ads that have to be responded to.

* Since there's no presidential race this year, the national parties have taken a special interest in Senate campaigns, like the Reid-Ensign race. That means funds from outside of Nevada have found their way into the state for ads through political action committees.

* Television is an extremely powerful medium for political candidates, whether propping up their own qualifications or attacking another's. Most of the big media buys have gone to television, though radio and newspaper executives aren't complaining about the revenue they're generating.

* Sands hotel-casino executive Sheldon Adelson's Committee for Fairness has made three county races more profitable. Viewers, listeners and readers have gotten the opportunity to decide for themselves whether Adelson is pointing out flaws in candidates or attempting to buy seats on the Clark County Commission. His targets have had little choice but to respond. The battle has generated thousands of dollars for the media.

* There are 12 ballot questions in this year's election. Three of them have sparked enough interest to generate significant ad campaigns. Station managers say the two Clark County questions -- on the proposed quarter-cent sales tax increase for water system improvements and on a bond issue for local school construction -- and a state question to allow the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes have resulted in additional revenues.

But there's a price to pay for the political ad windfall.

The broadcast media have a finite amount of time they can offer to candidates. Most radio and television stations have hit that saturation point and their viewers and listeners have said, "Enough, already!"

In addition to fielding viewer complaints about both the volume of ads and the messages they carry, station managers are having to turn away some of their traditional advertisers.

"I deal with plenty of viewer complaints," said Rolla Cleaver, general manager of KVBC Channel 3, the local NBC affiliate. "We anticipated a bullish year and we're not crying about all the revenue, but there's a price to pay when it comes to providing for our regular customers. They are the ones that get shut out in the political season."

Another difficulty local television stations face, especially the network affiliates, is that there are only two major cities in the state.

"Most states have several population centers," said Dick Fraim, general manager of KLAS Channel 8, affiliated with the CBS network. "In this state, everything either goes to the north (Reno) or to the south (Las Vegas)."

Fraim said not having a greater number of population centers concentrates all media buys in a tighter market. Some of the large advertising agencies on the East Coast aren't aware of the scheduling constraints on the local network affiliates. While there's more demand for spots in Las Vegas since it became a top 50 market this year, there's also a bigger squeeze during the political season.

While the coffers have grown, content has suffered at Las Vegas' top radio news station. Ron Cohen, general manager of KNUU 970-AM, said his station was oversold in October.

"In a typical inventory, we'll have 18 to 20 minutes of commercials," Cohen explained. "When we reach capacity, we go over the 20 minutes to accommodate all the advertisers. Our newsroom is anxiously awaiting the election to be over so they can get their time back."

Cohen has a unique perspective on how the election is playing in Nevada compared with a neighboring state, Arizona, since he serves as general manager for stations here and in Phoenix.

His assessment: Nevadans are following this vote with a greater fervor than their counterparts in Arizona, where there's also a Senate race, a gubernatorial contest and five U.S. House districts instead of just two.

There are several variables that enter in the equation, Cohen admitted. His station is tops in the radio news market in Las Vegas while KFNN 1510-AM is No. 3 in Phoenix. And, the races in Nevada are much closer than those in Arizona.

"But it's 10 times more active here than there," Cohen said. "October was one of the best months in the 22-year history of the radio station. As new owners (CRC Broadcasting bought KNUU earlier this year), we're liking it a lot. We wish there would be an election every three months."

Buzz Jones of KDWN 720-AM, a downtown-based talk radio station, said he knows the interest in the Reid-Ensign race is widespread -- he's been contacted by the British Broadcasting Co. about setting up a remote broadcast on the race.

"Don't ask me what the BBC wants with a Nevada Senate race," Jones said. "The Senate race and all the county races have stirred up a lot of interest. I don't know how that will affect voter turnout. I think a lot of people are getting burned out on the campaign."

Jones said the county propositions also generated more interest than he had anticipated.

"The tax question on the water and the school bond issue have come up," Jones said. "I think a lot of the newcomers are questioning whether there's a need for so many new schools."

The quarter-cent sales tax issue and the ballot question on medicinal use of marijuana were subjects of ads on some television stations. But Rusty Durante, general manager of KVVU Channel 5, the local Fox network affiliate, said the high-profile candidate races have been the big money generators.

"That's what has happened in the race for governor," Durante said. "They get into allegations and then they get into responding to them. When you're as viable as both of them (Kenny Guinn and Jan Jones) are and they both have a lot of money behind them, sure, you're going to see big numbers."

"A lot of us kind of thought Kenny Guinn pretty much had that race," said KVBC's Cleaver. "But Jones closed the gap and they both ended up spending much more in the close race.

"But it's the Senate race that has really done it for us. It's made this year better than anything we had ever dreamed of. This race is one of the critical ones nationally, so both parties have stepped up to try to win this thing. Tons of Democratic and Republican money have come in."

While county races haven't been the biggest money makers, they've come on strong in the last few weeks of the campaign, thanks to Adelson's attack ads.

"(Republicans Mark) Smith and (Steve) Harney were practically invisible in the primary election," KLAS' Fraim said. "Lately, they've spent almost as much as some of the high-profile races."

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