Midterm political spending throws spanner into regional advertiser holiday plans

November's midterm elections has inflated TV and streaming ad prices for regular advertisers. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

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October 26, 2026 Presented by Political media spending in the run-up to November's midterm elections has inflated TV and streaming ad prices for regular advertisers. It’s forcing advertisers operating in battleground states like Texas, Wisconsin, Maine and Michigan to choose between “going dark,”fleeing to the expensive safe havens of premium streaming networks, or swallowing a higher cost of advertising during the crucial fourth quarter. Advertisement TOP STORY MANAGING THROUGH CRISIS Midterm political spending throws spanner into regional advertiser holiday plans Rising political ad spend is making life harder for regional and local brands hoping to use CTV ads to reach consumers in Q4. Other things to know Join us Dec. 1-3 in Nashville for the Digiday Programmatic Marketing Summit, bringing together brand and agency leaders navigating the next era of programmatic. Don’t miss the chance to connect one-on-one with execs from VML, Horizon Media, OMD and many other industry-leading brands and agencies. Join this webinar on Nov. 5 at 1 p.m. ET to learn practical CTV strategies for eliminating operational silos, driving real business outcomes and maximizing performance ahead of 2027’s competitive buying windows. Partner insights from TripleLift. Podcast advertising is no longer an experimental line item for many marketers. New podcast advertisers have grown 129% in the last five years, according to a new report. Partner insights from Audacy. AI CONTENT ECONOMY Meta's new scraping terms galvanize publishers into collective action Multiple publisher trade bodies have published letters to Meta pushing back on its terms, and urged lawmakers to take action. MEMBER EXCLUSIVE Media Buying Briefing: Brands push toward retail and social while buyers ponder storm clouds Ad dollars are flowing towards usual suspects in Q4 but media buyers say midterms give reasonsto be cautious. PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM THE TRADE DESK Why programmatic audience providers and measurement partners must rally In programmatic, the infrastructure to connect audience exposure to purchase already exists. What’s missing is the willingness to agree on what proof means.  AI CONTENT ECONOMY The Daily Mail tests GEO with brands ahead of AI visibility product The Daily Mail is running around a dozen GEO tests to work out what works before turning its AI visibility offering into an official product early next year. A MESSAGE FROM BASIS Disconnected ad tech comes at a cost New advertising tools typically promise efficiency. But too often, they actually add complexity. Basis does things differently: consolidating campaign workflows, performance data and financial operations into a single platform built for how advertisers work today, and how they’ll work tomorrow. Studies show that organizations using Basis saved an average of 51 hours per campaign across all stages, freeing teams to focus on higher-value work. Explore Basis EVOLVING AGENCIES Omnicom lands Coca-Cola’s North American media business, as WPP retains its global remit The beverage giant's US and Canada media move to Omnicom as the holdco's CEO John Wren made the case it would build a bespoke team, not a Pepsico holdover. PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM NEXXEN Interoperability should solve problems, not add complexity As campaigns span more systems, data sources, and supply paths, agencies need technology that connects those pieces and supports more flexible, efficient workflows.  MARKETING ON PLATFORMS Salesforce’s $5.7 billion Braze deal puts marketers at an ecosystem crossroads The deal promises faster, more connected marketing, while raising questions about vendor lock-in and how brands stand out as AI automates campaign execution. PARTNER INSIGHTS FROM Eyeota, a Dun & Bradstreet company M&A is putting marketers’ data strategies to the test As dealmaking picks up across ad tech, marketers are weighing how ownership changes could affect data access, technology partnerships and campaign performance. Maintaining control and flexibility is becoming a critical part of long-term data planning. Advertisement ICYMI MEMBER EXCLUSIVE Media Buying Briefing: How are the 2nd tier holdcos separating themselves from the Big Three? Just under Publics, Omnicom and WPP, the scrum among a handful of holdcos and indies to stand out yields some interesting moves. BUSINESS OF TV Media buyers chart path for brands and sponsors through high NBA demand Brands looking to push more dollars towards NBA audiences must choose between spending on a sponsorship, or funnel budget into TV, streaming and social. Digiday Written by Jim Cooper and Sara Jerde More from Digiday Digiday+ Podcast Events Advertise Were you forwarded this email? Sign up to get it daily. Digiday Media, One Liberty Plaza, 9th Floor, New York, NY 10006 Preferences · Unsubscribe · Privacy policy