MTV To Start Accepting Political Ads
NEW YORK — MTV has been active in trying to get its young viewers interested in politics. Now the network is looking to profit from it.
MTV is selling time for political spots this election season, meaning pictures of Barack Obama and John McCain may turn up among the women of "The Hills" and souped-up vans on "Pimp My Ride."
The network hasn't taken political advertising since its "Choose or Lose" political activism campaign in 1992, said spokeswoman Jeannie Kedas on Thursday. "Given where we are and how the young voters have become increasingly engaged, we decided political advertising would be a good fit for our audience," she said.
MTV's corporate parent Viacom recently reported that its second quarter domestic advertising revenue growth would be 3 to 4 percent, after earlier forecasting a growth of 7 percent. Its shares have fallen 20 percent since then, said Richard Greenfield, an analyst at Pali Capital.
Strong ad sales for the fall and strong ratings, along with the political ad money, should help revenue growth, Greenfield said.
"From a financial perspective, now is the best time ever because young people are going to have more of an impact on this election than ever before," said Kyle Roberts, president of Smart Media, a Washington-based firm that buys advertising time for GOP candidates.
The decision is most likely to benefit Democrat Obama, he said.
Obama's representatives wouldn't comment on their advertising strategy on Thursday. Last weekend, The New York Times identified MTV as a potential target for Obama advertising.
The median age of an MTV viewer is 22. Typically, two-thirds of the MTV audience is eligible to vote, Kedas said.
MTV will decide whether to run spots by political groups not aligned with a specific campaign on a case-by-case basis, she said.
Several polls have suggested that Obama has an advantage over McCain among young voters. But they haven't been conclusive, and some pollsters suggest it's hard to get a true read on youthful preferences because many can't be reached by land telephone lines, and young voters tend to be fickle.
For MTV, the decision was likely much easier.
"Look around _ who is not accepting political dollars these days?" Roberts said. "It's a growing category. It's a no-brainer for them."
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DAVID BAUDER | June 26, 2008 04:37 PM EST |