According to Nielsen research, 1.8 million people in the Tampa Bay area will likely participate in the upcoming election on November 8th. To sway these voters, candidates and political action committees are expected to spend a record amount on advertising.

AdImpact, a company that measures advertising expenditures by political campaigns, says more than $3.6 billion have been spent to reach voters so far in 2022. This puts spending on a course to obliterate the record level of campaign dollars set during the 2020 presidential elections.

Despite crumbling ratings, through August 1st, 58% of all political spending has been dished out to local TV stations, according to AdImpact.

Nielsen reports that since 2017, the reach of broadcast TV stations like WFLA, WTSP, WTVT, WFTS, and WEDU has decayed by 10%.

No matter which Tampa Bay television station or cable channel adults tune to in 2022, they can expect to be assaulted by a deluge of political advertising. Often entire commercial breaks are stuffed with back-to-back pleas and promises to secure viewers' votes.

But is advertising on WFLA, WTSP, WTVT, or WFTS, the most effective way to reach likely voters in the Tampa Bay area? Or is advertising on cable channels provided by Xfinity, DISH, DirecTV, and Spectrum the way to go?

The answer is neither. According to research from Nielsen, the best way to reach local adults who are most likely to vote is by advertising on Tampa Bay radio.

Every week, 1.4 million likely voters will listen to Tampa Bay radio stations. This is significantly more than watch local TV, cable, and streaming video. More that use social media and streaming audio. More than will read newspapers.

On September 4, the political advertising window opened on Tampa television and radio stations.  This is a 60 day period leading up to a general election when broadcast stations licensed by the Federal Communication Commission are obligated to offer candidates for national office the opportunity to buy commercials at the lowest unit rate (LUR).

For example, if a high-frequency advertiser like McDonald's earns the lowest rates on a particular Tampa radio station during morning drive-time, then any candidate for federal office must, during the 60-day political window, be offered the same rate for morning drive time on that station, regardless of frequency.

If, however, the McDonald's rate is contingent on the radio station's ability to pre-empt commercials without notice, then qualified candidates must agree to identical terms to receive the same rate.

To facilitate the purchase of commercials on Tampa radio, stations will supply candidates with a political rate-card.  This card will show the LUR by time of day and by preemption parameters.

Here are other important facts about political advertising on Tampa radio.

There are more than two million registered voters in Tampa Bay. Here is the number by county: 

• Hernando: 140,935
• Hillsborough: 882,706
• Pasco: 371,297
• Pinellas: 680,054

According to Nielsen, Tampa radio reaches significantly more of these registered voters than all other media, including local television pay-TV, newspaper, social media platforms, and streaming audio sites like Pandora or Spotify.

To be elected, however, requires candidates for every office to share their message with those who are not only registered but who are likely to vote.  Advertising on Tampa radio will reach, by far, the most voters who can be counted on to show up on election day.

Every vote counts.  Many times the difference between winning an election and losing is a handful of ballots. This is true in races for almost every elected office, referendum, and issue on the national, statewide, and local level.

To win a modern election requires advertising. Successful advertising requires reach. In Tampa Bay, the most potent way to reach voters is on local radio.

Last week, for instance, 89% of all registered voters in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, and Hernando counties tuned-in to a Tampa radio station.  This is significantly more than were reached by local TV, local newspaper, or the major social media site like Facebook and Instagram.