TV advertising remains one of the most important tools in political campaigns because it provides exceptional reach, credibility, and influence. Despite the rise of digital media, television—both traditional and streaming—continues to be the primary way campaigns both deliver messages and persuade large groups of voters.
From local elections to national campaigns, TV advertising remains an essential and integral part of American politics.
Why TV remains an essential political advertising strategy
Despite the countless ways to reach voter audiences today, television’s power in political campaigns endures because of three things: scale, trust, and impact.
1. TV delivers unmatched reach.
TV is still the most effective way to reach large audiences quickly, especially during key moments in an election cycle.
With television sets in 96% of U.S. households,1 TV is still a dominant medium where news and live events draw large audiences. These high-attention environments are effective placements for political messaging.
Who’s watching TV matters, too. Election turnout is highest among voters aged 60 and above,2 with voters aged 50 and above totaling over half of all voters in the 2024 presidential election.3 Television reaches these voters. During the 2024 election cycle, 52% of adults aged 55 to 64 say TV was where they saw the most political ads.4
Campaign analysis from Comcast Advertising’s 2024 Winning Political Ad Strategies Report found that among multiscreen TV campaigns:
- 81% of reach was unique to traditional TV
- Those that added streaming increased overall reach and frequency
Without TV, campaigns risk missing a large portion of the electorate entirely.
2. TV builds trust and credibility.
With user-generated video content, social media, and gaming in the palms of our hands, how can TV still be so important for political campaigns? It largely comes down to trust. Widespread misinformation and AI-generated content make voters distrustful of digital content, including the political ads they see on those platforms.
Political campaigns rely on credibility, and TV provides a premium environment that reinforces trust. A recent survey of U.S. adults revealed that 61% find political ads on TV more trustworthy than those on social media.5
Compared to many digital platforms, television advertising:
- Appears alongside professionally produced, brand-safe content
- Operates within regulated environments (e.g., FCC oversight)
- Signals legitimacy to voters
For campaigns, this trust translates into greater message credibility and persuasiveness.
3. TV advertising influences voter perception.
More than creating awareness, TV ads shape how voters think and feel about candidates.
Scholarly research also shows that TV ads are more influential with less informed voters7 and concludes that “television advertising is related to election outcomes: the larger a candidate’s advantage in advertising compared with that of their opponent, the larger their share of the vote.”8
Data collected from Comcast Advertising confirm that political advertising on TV has a measurable effect in shaping voter attitudes and election outcomes. Surveyed voters who were exposed to a candidate’s ad through traditional TV during a primary election in 2024 said they:9
- Were +25% more likely to consider the candidate to be prepared
- Had 100% candidate name recall
- Reported a +12% higher familiarity with the candidate
In another recent Comcast Advertising survey, one in three voters said they choose candidates at the ballot box based on name recognition from advertising or campaigning alone.9
Beyond boosting name recognition and helping shape voters’ opinions, TV ads are also effective at driving voters to act. Results from a 2025 survey show that “two-thirds of respondents said they seek more information after seeing political ads, turning the high engagement of TV into deeper voter education.”5
Making critical connections through CTV and streaming
As more viewers shift to streaming, political campaigns are expanding beyond traditional TV to reach audiences watching on connected devices like connected TV (CTV).
CTV is any television that streams content via the internet, including smart TVs and devices like Roku or Amazon Fire TV.
Nearly 119 million U.S. households use connected TV devices.1 As viewership shifts, political ad spending is shifting with it.
Of the $9 billion of political ads projected to be spent this election cycle on TV, CTV’s share is expected to be almost $2.5 billion, drawing dollars away from broadcast and cable.1
Combining TV and streaming delivers stronger results. Campaign data show that integrating traditional TV with streaming increases overall reach and frequency, while helping campaigns connect with viewers who are less likely to be reached through linear TV alone.9
Linear TV provides:
- Broad, targeted reach
- Credibility and visibility
- Strong performance with high-turnout voters
Streaming and digital video add:
- Incremental reach among cord-cutters
- Faster optimization and creative testing
This type of multiscreen advertising strategy allows political campaigns to:
- Introduce candidates broadly on TV
- Reinforce messaging through targeted ads
- Adjust creative and frequency in real time
The result is a more efficient and effective media mix.
How modern TV enables precise audience targeting in political ads
Television advertising is no longer limited to broad, one-size-fits-all messaging. Audience targeting is more precise than ever, allowing campaigns to deliver tailored messages to specific voter segments.
Plus, addressable advertising allows campaigns to deliver different ads to different households watching the same program, based on data such as location, demographics, or other traits.
Advances in data and technology now make it possible to:
- Match voter files with household-level data
- Deliver tailored messages to specific voter segments
- Optimize campaigns based on real performance data
This is especially important for:
- Down-ballot races with limited budgets
- Local campaigns targeting specific districts or issues
- Persuasion campaigns focused on undecided voters
Managing ad frequency without overwhelming voters
Reaching voters is critical, but overexposure can backfire. After the 2024 election, 40% of surveyed TV audiences said the barrage of political ads caused them to pay less attention to ads during the campaign season.10
During peak campaign periods, political ad volume increases dramatically. In fact, nearly half of digital political ad spending occurs in the final weeks before Election Day.11
Without careful planning, this can lead to:
- Viewer frustration
- Diminishing returns
- Wasted ad spend
Best practices for managing frequency include:
- Set frequency caps across platforms
- Coordinate messaging across TV and digital channels
- Rotate creative to keep messaging fresh
- Monitor performance and adjust in real time
Careful coordination of a multiscreen approach can help political campaigns maintain impact without oversaturating their audience.
What to consider when buying political TV advertising
Political media buying comes with unique considerations that campaigns must navigate carefully. Campaigns must account for:
- Rising costs closer to Election Day due to increased demand
- Limited inventory availability in key markets
- Audience, format, and delivery timing differences between broadcast, cable, and streaming ad environments
These factors make early planning and strategic allocation essential.
How TV advertising is evolving in modern political campaigns
Looking ahead, media strategists and agency partners working with political campaigns need to stay tuned into the many ways in which TV advertising will continue to change:
- How and where audiences consume TV content will keep changing, even as data insights grow more sophisticated.
- Programmatic buying is on the rise, accounting for more than half of political ad spend in recent cycles.11
The growth of CTV is also driving a broader change as political campaigns move from fixed media plans to more flexible, data-informed strategies.12
In practice, this means that political campaigns wanting to future-proof their TV advertising should plan to:
Test messaging early.
Campaigns increasingly evaluate which messages resonate before scaling spend, helping ensure that TV dollars are used on the most effective creative.
Adjust campaigns in real time.
Streaming and data-enabled TV allow campaigns to refine targeting, creative, and delivery while campaigns are still running.
Manage frequency across screens.
Coordinating exposure across linear TV and streaming helps campaigns reach voter audiences enough times to be effective, without overwhelming them or wasting spend.
Harnessing TV’s evolving role in political campaigns
Television advertising’s importance to political campaigns is more than enduring; it’s evolving. As platforms and types of media change, how TV advertising is deployed changes, too.
Winning campaigns bring together traditional TV with streaming and data-driven targeting to reach more voter audiences, deliver more relevant messages, and optimize performance throughout the election cycle.
With political campaign expertise across linear TV, streaming, and advanced audience targeting, Comcast Advertising helps campaigns maximize the impact of every dollar to drive meaningful voter engagement.
Ready to unleash the power of TV advertising for your political campaign? Contact us to start reaching your audience wherever—and however—they’re watching.
Sources:
1 Statista, “Number of TV households in the U.S. 2000-2026,” Apr 1, 2026.
2 U.S. Election Project, “Voter Turnout Demographics,” accessed Apr 4, 2026.
3 Pew Research Center, “Voter turnout, 2020-2024,” Jun 26, 2025.
4 LoopMe, “The evolving landscape of US political advertising: TV’s dominance and digital’s rising influence,” Mar 7, 2025.
5 AdAge, “Why TV is the way to reach voters with messages they’ll watch and trust,” Nov 21, 2025.
6 Sides, John, Lynn Vavreck, and Christopher Warshaw, “The Effect of Television Advertising in United States Elections,” American Political Science Review, 2 Nov. 2021.
7 Franz, Michael M. and Travis N. Ridout, “Does Political Advertising Persuade?” Springer Science+Business Media, LLC. 2007.
8 Sides, John, Lynn Vavreck, and Christopher Warshaw. “The Effect of Television Advertising in United States Elections.” American Political Science Review 116, no. 2 (2022): 702–18.
9 Comcast Advertising, “Winning Strategies: Advertising Lessons from the 2024 Election Cycle,” 2025.
10 MediaPost, “What Election Trends Say About 2025 Ad Strategies,” Mar 4, 2025.
11 TVTechnology, “New Data on Political Advertising Shows Growing Importance of CTV Ads,” Mar 17, 2025.
12 Experian, “Connected TV political advertising in 2024,” May 7, 2024.