Political campaigns are expected to intensify on streaming platforms like Roku and Hulu as election season approaches.

• The Harris campaign has reserved $200 million in ad space on connected TV and streaming platforms, including Hulu, Roku, and Pandora.
• Basis Technologies' ad tech firm Jaime Vasil Winkelfoos stated that the country has not experienced a significant national moment related to large spending until the arrival of Kamala.

Political ads are impossible to avoid for consumers who have recently canceled their cable subscriptions.

According to AdImpact, the CTV market generated approximately $236 million in ad sales related to the presidential race from January 1 to August 23, 2022, while the digital category brought in just under $235 million during the same time period, with Facebook and Google accounting for almost all of it.

"According to Jaime Vasil Winkelfoos, the group vice president of candidates and causes at ad tech firm Basis Technologies, CTV has more engagement than other platforms. He stated that when voters say they are watching TV, they don't say "I'm watching broadcast.""

Allocating budgets in political campaigns is crucial, according to Winkelfoos.

Despite the increase in funding for streaming services, the total amount spent on traditional broadcast television remains significantly higher. According to AdImpact, the 2024 election cycle is projected to see overall political ad spending of $10.7 billion, with broadcast accounting for about half, followed by CTV at around 14% and digital at nearly 12%. A recent report from eMarketer indicates that CTV's share of spending will increase to 13% from 2.7% in the previous presidential cycle.

CTV's rapid rise is evident from the $473 million it generated from early January through Aug. 23, a significant decrease from the $875 million it earned during the same period in 2020.

The decline in overall election-related spending on Facebook and Google has been more than half from 2020, mainly due to the competitive Democratic primary with Mike Bloomberg spending a significant amount of money on ads.

Eric Haggstrom, vice president of business intelligence at Advertiser Perceptions, stated that the flow directed ads specifically benefited Meta and Google.

The availability of advertising inventory on CTV has increased significantly, as Winkelfoos announced, coinciding with the market's growth. However, it's worth noting that Google's YouTube video service is classified under the digital category, while YouTube TV is considered part of CTV.

While CTV platforms are not subject to the Federal Communications Commission's rules requiring traditional TV operators to report certain political ad information, Facebook and Google, like CTV platforms, disclose some political ad data.

During the 2020 U.S. presidential election cycle, the government and politics vertical was not among our top 10 verticals in both the U.S. and globally, as Li stated.

The ad blitz for CTV users in swing states is about to intensify, with 60% to 70% of spending typically occurring after Labor Day, which falls on Monday.

Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to have a significant presence in fall ads, with the campaign reserving $200 million worth of ad space across streaming platforms.

Porter stated that there is a higher initial investment, particularly in CTV, to secure inventory in advance compared to 2022.

Georgia, with its 16 electoral votes, is a critical battleground in the race to secure the 270 electoral votes needed to win the election. Both presidential campaigns are pushing to secure post-Labor Day ad space on both CTV and linear broadcasting in Georgia.

The announcement of the Harris campaign's ad plans, made just before the Democratic National Convention, was a significant development for the industry, according to Winkelfoos.

Winkelfoos stated that there hasn't been a significant national moment related to large spending until the arrival of Kamala.

Mark Zuckerberg claims that the White House exerted pressure on Meta to suppress Covid-19 information.