Political ads can subtract from stations' profitability.

• Author: Payton, Kathy

By the time the ballots had been counted and the 1992 governor's race was over, Jim Hunt's campaign had spent $4 million on TV advertising alone. "It is the single biggest expense in politics today," says Gary Pearce, a consultant for Hunt's campaign.

So why are some TV-station managers grousing as this year's elections come to a head? Contrary to what you might think, the political season is not always a windfall for them. It can hurt revenues, alienate commercial advertisers and create avalanches of paper-work that stations would just as soon do without.

"There's nothing quite like Nov. 3," says Mark Prak, a Raleigh lawyer for the North Carolina Association of Broadcasters. "They're usually celebrating [the election] just being over." It's the same for radio stations. "A large number of radio people would just as soon political advertising go away," says Don Curtis, owner of Raleigh-based Curtis Media Group, which has 11 stations.

That wasn't always the case. Before Congress and the Federal Communications Commission regulated what stations could charge, the political season was a broadcaster's best friend. That ended in 1972 when Congress, in a partly self-serving move, legislated the "lowest unit charge" restriction. For 45 days leading up to a primary and 60 days before an election, stations must offer their best volume discount to candidates, no matter how many times their ads run. Stations are prohibited from refusing advertising from a federal candidate. "The theory with respect to radio and TV has been that they're licensed by the public to serve the public interest," Prak says.

Those restrictions and others anger some station managers who feel they're being singled out among the media. Newspapers and magazines, for instance, are not required to accept political ads. And they can charge whatever they want. "It's grossly unfair for Congress to set broadcasters aside and say, 'You're special, so we're going to put these restrictions on you,'" says Cullie Tarleton, general manager of Bahakel Communications, which owns WCCB-TV in Charlotte. "The marketplace ought to determine these things."

In North Carolina, rate-card prices for a 30-second prime-time spot on TV range from less than $100 to $4,000, depending on the market. But discounts can run as deep as 50%. For stations that need the business, political seasons are a boon. For those already selling out their time to advertisers paying top dollar, "it's a losing proposition," Prak...