WWOR-TV in New Jersey Replaces Nightly News

Depending on one’s perspective, what the New Jersey-based television station WWOR is doing this month is irresponsible or innovative.

Last week, with no notice, the station canceled its 10 p.m. half-hour of news, the only newscast it had left. On Monday, it will try something new at 10, a youthful newsmagazine called “Chasing New Jersey.” The anchor, a real estate executive and onetime Republican candidate for Congress, will be called the “ringleader” on the program; the reporters will be called “chasers.”

The shift in programming strategy is bound to be watched in Washington, where WWOR, broadcast on Channel 9, has been under regulatory scrutiny for years. The station is in a unique position, being the only big commercially owned broadcaster in New Jersey, whose 8.9 million residents otherwise see television news mainly from stations in New York City and Philadelphia. WWOR’s license for the public airwaves, granted by the Federal Communications Commission, comes with the condition that the license-holder pay special attention to the northern part of the state.

Since 2001, that license-holder has been the News Corporation, the sprawling media company controlled by Rupert Murdoch. (Since the company split into two parts last month, the new name for WWOR’s owner is Twenty-First Century Fox.) When the station’s license expired in 2007, the F.C.C. pointedly declined to renew it, but didn’t revoke it either, leaving the station in a sort of limbo â€" able to continue broadcasting for the time being, but uncertain about its future.

In 2011, the F.C.C. conducted an investigation into charges that News Corporation overstated how much news coverage it provided to New Jersey and how many people it employed in the state. The station’s executives have “failed to live up to their obligations,” WWOR’s chief critic, Senator Frank R. Lautenberg, said at the time.

“Lautenberg hassled them big-time,” Andrew Jay Schwartzman, a lawyer and advocate for media reform, said approvingly.

Mr. Lautenberg, a Democrat, died last month. While the timing of WWOR’s programming change was a coincidence, “it certainly has an unseemly appearance,” Mr. Schwartzman said.

A spokeswoman for WWOR said the executives in charge of the station were unavailable to comment on the 10 p.m. change. To people like Mr. Schwartzman, canceling the straightforward newscast â€" instead of keeping it while adding “Chasing New Jersey” to the schedule alongside it â€" smacks of retrenchment. But the Fox Television Stations group, of which WWOR is a part, seems to be billing it as a bold improvement over the old newscast, with a greater focus on New Jersey than before.

The program has been in development since late last year; promotional material suggests that it applies the look and feel of an entertainment show like “TMZ” to politics, business, crime and other topics. One taped story paired the program’s anchor, Bill Spadea, with the Democratic congressman he tried to defeat in 2004, Representative Rush D. Holt Jr.

“Chasing New Jersey” will be replayed on WTXF, the Fox-owned station in Philadelphia. The person in charge of that station, Dennis Bianchi, is also the vice president of Fairfax Productions, the outside production company that will produce the program.

“This type of evolution is long overdue in local news and is intended to shake up and revitalize the genre,” Mr. Bianchi said in a statement last week. “It’s about covering stories of real interest and importance in a new, refreshing and nonderivative way, with depth, context, interaction and debate.”

Fox may have big hopes for it: the TV industry Web site TVSpy dug up trademark filings for “Chasing Texas,” “Chasing Florida,” and a host of similarly named shows.

News From the Advertising Industry

Accounts

â–  Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, Nashville, part of the Bridgestone Corporation, named Publicis Dallas â€" part of the Publicis in the USA unit of Publicis Worldwide, owned by the Publicis Groupe â€" as its lead creative and strategic agency. Spending was estimated at more than $40 million. The account had been handled by the Richards Group, Dallas, which will continue to handle sports marketing assignments through its sports marketing unit. The move came 15 months after Bridgestone Americas shifted the creative duties for its Firestone brands from Richards to Leo Burnett, Chicago, part of the Publicis Groupe.

â–  Proximo Spirits, Jersey City, selected agencies to handle the creative and media duties for Jose Cuervo tequila as Proximo assumes the duties of distributing the brand in the United States from Diageo. Spending last year by Diageo was estimated at more than $11 million. The creative account was awarded to McCann Erickson New York, part of the McCann Erickson Worldwide division of the McCann Worldgroup, which is owned by the Interpublic Group of Companies. The media account was awarded to Gotham Direct, New York.

■ Motorola Mobility, now a part of Google, named Droga5, New York, as creative agency of record, working with Digitas, part of the Publicis Groupe, which will assist with creative and strategic duties, the agency said. Spending was not disclosed. The initial campaign from Droga5, which was introduced last week, promoted the next Motorola smartphone, Moto X, as the first to be “designed, engineered and assembled in the USA.”

People

â–  Carlos Bayala, founding partner and executive creative director of Madre â€" the Buenos Aires office of Mother â€" was named to assume new duties at Mother, taking on a lead worldwide creative role as a global creative partner, working with the founders of Mother, Robert Saville and Mark Waites, as well as with Paul Malmstrom, partner at Mother New York. Mr. Bayala will also work on expanding Madre into other markets in Latin America.

Miscellany

â–  Two agencies that have been affiliated for several years, Muse Communications and Quantasy, Culver City, Calif., are combining operations. Shelley Yamane, president of Muse, and Will Campbell, chief executive of Quantasy, will run day-to-day operations as co-presidents. Jo Muse continues as chairman and chief executive of Muse.

■ Publicis Groupe, Paris, acquired Bosz Digital, San José, Costa Rica, and, subject to approval by the local authorities, Bosz Digital Colombia, Bogota. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Advertising: A Wienermobile Road Rally, Mapped Out by Fans on Social Media

A Wienermobile Road Rally, Mapped Out by Fans on Social Media

A SUMMER promotional mainstay, the mobile marketing tour of the Oscar Mayer Wienermobiles, is being rebooted as a cross-country road rally in a change that is emblematic of how Madison Avenue is remaking event marketing under the influence of social media.

The revamped tour, called the Wienermobile Run, is to be announced on Monday by Oscar Mayer, part of the Kraft Foods Group. To encourage consumers to follow the promotion on social media like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, the young men and women who drive the six Wienermobiles â€" Hotdoggers, in Oscar Mayer parlance â€" are being organized into teams.

Each team’s vehicle gets its own name â€" among them, Autobuhn, DriftDog and SpeedyWiener â€" and hashtag. The teams will race around the country accumulating points as the drivers perform tasks or challenges submitted by the public on a Web site, wienermobilerun.com.

“People have interacted with our Wienermobiles for decades,” said Tom Bick, senior director for integrated marketing at Oscar Mayer in Madison, Wis., by, for instance, waving as they drove past or “visiting them in the parking lots of supermarkets.”

“Now, we have the tools for people to really, really interact with them,” he added, as the Wienermobiles become “powerful social media engagement vehicles.”

“What we’re trying to do is create stronger bonds between the Wienermobiles and consumers,” Mr. Bick said, by cultivating “communities of support” in the form of the six teams.

The promotion is an effort to mash up “the classic cross-country road rally with gamification,” he added â€" that is, the infusion of marketing campaigns with aspects of online games or video games.

Oscar Mayer is working on the Wienermobile Run with Olson PR, the public relations division of Olson, which became the public relations agency of record for the brand in September.

“If someone handed you the keys to six giant hot dogs on wheels, what would you do?” asked Jody Moore, vice president at the Chicago office of Olson PR. The answer, she said, was to develop a campaign that would “put the Wienermobiles in the hands of their fans.”

“The folks at Oscar Mayer are flooded with requests to have the Wienermobiles show up at parties and events,” Ms. Moore said. “This is giving people what they wanted for a really long time.”

The Wienermobile Run is not the only example of how social media are transforming event marketing, also referred to as experiential marketing, as advertisers venture onto American highways for summer road trips. The trend, which was under way last year, seems to be accelerating.

“For our Silverado truck launch we feel it’s got to be a visceral experience, not just a visual experience,” said Maria Rohrer, director of marketing for Chevrolet trucks at the Chevrolet division of General Motors in Detroit.

“So absolutely we’re building social media into a boots-on-the-ground strategy” to introduce the 2014 Silverado pickups, she added, which includes bringing trucks to 34 locations around Texas, where the rollout began last week, to be followed by visits to 37 locations throughout the rest of the country, including “a grand opening of a Cabela’s” sporting goods store and the Brickyard 400 Nascar race.

Another Kraft Foods Group brand, A.1. steak sauce, is developing an experiential component for a campaign, carrying the theme “A.1. for life,” that began in late June and includes the brand’s page on Facebook. The idea is to offer consumers “an A.1. upgraded experience at a concert or a sporting event,” said Brett Castle, brand manager for A.1. at Kraft in Glenview, Ill., which would “bring to life” how using A.1. improves the taste of steak or other foods.

“There’s an opportunity to celebrate and reward passionate fans,” he added, “and bring new people into the franchise.”

The A.1. campaign is being created by Crispin Porter & Bogusky, part of MDC Partners. “It’s letting A.1. lovers know we love them back,” said Bob Winter, executive creative director at the Crispin Porter office in Miami, by “not just talking about the spirit of ‘A.1. for life,’ but by demonstrating it in the real world, creating experiences to help people see what it’s like to live A.1.”

Mr. Winter said he envisioned a section at a concert hall, stadium or arena that “would be branded with the A.1. logo, and the people who get to sit in those seats would get great seats and get served a big, juicy, delicious steak while watching their event.”

Discussions also are under way about creating “the world’s first sauce-related credit card,” Mr. Winter said, laughing, which would offer consumers found through platforms like social media a telephone number to call to “receive A.1. steak sauce anywhere in the world.”

“We’re considering sending the card to a handful of celebrities who’ve proved themselves to be A.1. lovers,” he added, “and a regular person, not a celebrity, who’s also proved himself or herself an ‘A.1. for life’ fan.”

“They’ll talk about, and get buzz for, the brand,” Mr. Winter said. “By giving these people a voice, you turn them into the media for the campaign.”

The campaign also has elements in traditional media like ads in publications that include ESPN the Magazine, People, Rolling Stone, Sports Illustrated, US Weekly and USA Today. Those ads carry the headline “Life is too short to live A.2.”

Accounts and People of Note in the Ad Industry

American Advertising Federation, Washington, elected its board for 2013-14. Wendy Clark, senior vice president of the Global Sparkling Brand Center at the Coca-Cola Cola, becomes the new chairwoman, succeeding the immediate past chairman, John Osborn, president and chief executive at BBDO New York. Rich Stoddart, president for North America at Leo Burnett, becomes the new vice chairman.

Max Arlestig and Max Gebhardt, an interactive creative team, joined the Amsterdam office of Wieden & Kennedy after working together at R/GA, New York, part of the Interpublic Group of Companies, and freelancing in London and Sydney.

Kelly Williams Brown joined Leopold Ketel, Portland, Ore., as a copywriter. She has been a reporter and editor and most recently wrote a book, “Adulting: How to Become a Grown-Up in 468 Easy(ish) Steps.”

Auro Trini Castelli and Lauren Glazer joined the New York office of Gyro in new posts. Mr. Trini Castelli becomes head of strategy; he had been senior vice president and global strategy director at the New York office of DraftFCB, part of the Interpublic Group of Companies. Ms. Glazer becomes client services director; she had been senior vice president and account director at BBDO New York, part of the BBDO North America unit of BBDO Worldwide, owned by the Omnicom Group.

Ericsson, Stockholm, is acquiring Red Bee Media, London, a media services company, from a group controlled by Macquarie Advanced Investment Partners. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Katrina Greenwood joined the Chicago office of Havas Worldwide in a new post, strategy director for the retail and direct marketing aspects of the Citibank account. She had been senior creative strategist for brand strategy at Digitas, part of the Publicis Groupe. Havas Worldwide is part of the Havas Creative unit of Havas.

Amanda Hines joined Forge Worldwide, Boston, as an account supervisor. She had been a senior account executive at Roundarch Isobar, Boston, part of the Dentsu Aegis Network division of Dentsu.

IgnitionOne, New York, has completed a buyout, led by management, from its parent, Dentsu. Financial terms were not disclosed. In addition to senior managers, the buyout was financed by employees and ABS Capital Partners. IgnitionOne had been owned by Dentsu since 2010.

Peter Krasniqi joined Tapad, New York, in a new post, vice president and head of performance advertising. He had been iAd sales manager at Apple, based in New York.

Latitude, Minneapolis, hired three executives. They are Van Horgen, creative director and copywriter; Michael Murray, account director; and Jason Strong, executive creative director and designer.

Gayle Malone joined the Magnetic Collective, New York, in a new post, partner. She had been associate director for account planning at Razorfish, part of the Publicis Groupe.

MediaCom Sport, part of the MediaCom division of GroupM, a unit of WPP, opened its first office in Asia, in Singapore, to be led by Jin Wei Toh, who had been Singapore managing director at the Parallel Media Group Asia.

Palace Resorts, Doral, Fla., chose ISM, Boston, as its advertising agency of record in North America. Billings were not disclosed. The assignment had previously been handled by the Newlink Group, Miami, which will continue to work with Palace Resorts, handling public relations.

Pascal Racheneur joined LSN Mobile, Atlanta, in a new post, senior vice president for products. He had been vice president for interactive media at AccuWeather.

Michael Racic joined the New York office of Rocket Fuel in a new post, vice president for category development. He had most recently been executive vice president and managing partner at Universal McCann, New York, part of the Mediabrands division of the Interpublic Group of Companies.

Relevant24 â€" which describes itself as an amalgam of publisher, advertising agency and multimedia content production company â€" was opened in Boston by Marc Gallucci, who is chief executive, and Lane Murphy, who is president.

Seth Rogin joined Mashable, New York, in a new post, chief revenue officer. He had been a vice president for advertising at The New York Times.

SK&G Advertising, Las Vegas, expanded further into Asia by forming a unit focused on the region. The unit, SK&G Asia Pacific, is based in Hong Kong and is teaming with the Tank, a Hong Kong agency that has worked for marketers like the Hong Kong Jockey Club.

Elaine Wong joined McGarryBowen, New York, as director for corporate communications. She had been director for corporate communications at ID Media, New York, part of the Mediabrands division of the Interpublic Group of Companies. McGarryBowen is part of the Dentsu Network division of Dentsu.

Po Yi joined the New York office of Venable as a partner in an expansion of the law firm’s advertising and marketing group. She had been vice president and chief advertising counsel at American Express, New York, serving as chief counsel to the chief marketing officer and global advertising and brand management group.

Accounts and People of Note in the Ad Industry

American Advertising Federation, Washington, elected its board for 2013-14. Wendy Clark, senior vice president of the Global Sparkling Brand Center at the Coca-Cola Cola, becomes the new chairwoman, succeeding the immediate past chairman, John Osborn, president and chief executive at BBDO New York. Rich Stoddart, president for North America at Leo Burnett, becomes the new vice chairman.

Max Arlestig and Max Gebhardt, an interactive creative team, joined the Amsterdam office of Wieden & Kennedy after working together at R/GA, New York, part of the Interpublic Group of Companies, and freelancing in London and Sydney.

Kelly Williams Brown joined Leopold Ketel, Portland, Ore., as a copywriter. She has been a reporter and editor and most recently wrote a book, “Adulting: How to Become a Grown-Up in 468 Easy(ish) Steps.”

Auro Trini Castelli and Lauren Glazer joined the New York office of Gyro in new posts. Mr. Trini Castelli becomes head of strategy; he had been senior vice president and global strategy director at the New York office of DraftFCB, part of the Interpublic Group of Companies. Ms. Glazer becomes client services director; she had been senior vice president and account director at BBDO New York, part of the BBDO North America unit of BBDO Worldwide, owned by the Omnicom Group.

Ericsson, Stockholm, is acquiring Red Bee Media, London, a media services company, from a group controlled by Macquarie Advanced Investment Partners. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Katrina Greenwood joined the Chicago office of Havas Worldwide in a new post, strategy director for the retail and direct marketing aspects of the Citibank account. She had been senior creative strategist for brand strategy at Digitas, part of the Publicis Groupe. Havas Worldwide is part of the Havas Creative unit of Havas.

Amanda Hines joined Forge Worldwide, Boston, as an account supervisor. She had been a senior account executive at Roundarch Isobar, Boston, part of the Dentsu Aegis Network division of Dentsu.

IgnitionOne, New York, has completed a buyout, led by management, from its parent, Dentsu. Financial terms were not disclosed. In addition to senior managers, the buyout was financed by employees and ABS Capital Partners. IgnitionOne had been owned by Dentsu since 2010.

Peter Krasniqi joined Tapad, New York, in a new post, vice president and head of performance advertising. He had been iAd sales manager at Apple, based in New York.

Latitude, Minneapolis, hired three executives. They are Van Horgen, creative director and copywriter; Michael Murray, account director; and Jason Strong, executive creative director and designer.

Gayle Malone joined the Magnetic Collective, New York, in a new post, partner. She had been associate director for account planning at Razorfish, part of the Publicis Groupe.

MediaCom Sport, part of the MediaCom division of GroupM, a unit of WPP, opened its first office in Asia, in Singapore, to be led by Jin Wei Toh, who had been Singapore managing director at the Parallel Media Group Asia.

Palace Resorts, Doral, Fla., chose ISM, Boston, as its advertising agency of record in North America. Billings were not disclosed. The assignment had previously been handled by the Newlink Group, Miami, which will continue to work with Palace Resorts, handling public relations.

Pascal Racheneur joined LSN Mobile, Atlanta, in a new post, senior vice president for products. He had been vice president for interactive media at AccuWeather.

Michael Racic joined the New York office of Rocket Fuel in a new post, vice president for category development. He had most recently been executive vice president and managing partner at Universal McCann, New York, part of the Mediabrands division of the Interpublic Group of Companies.

Relevant24 â€" which describes itself as an amalgam of publisher, advertising agency and multimedia content production company â€" was opened in Boston by Marc Gallucci, who is chief executive, and Lane Murphy, who is president.

Seth Rogin joined Mashable, New York, in a new post, chief revenue officer. He had been a vice president for advertising at The New York Times.

SK&G Advertising, Las Vegas, expanded further into Asia by forming a unit focused on the region. The unit, SK&G Asia Pacific, is based in Hong Kong and is teaming with the Tank, a Hong Kong agency that has worked for marketers like the Hong Kong Jockey Club.

Elaine Wong joined McGarryBowen, New York, as director for corporate communications. She had been director for corporate communications at ID Media, New York, part of the Mediabrands division of the Interpublic Group of Companies. McGarryBowen is part of the Dentsu Network division of Dentsu.

Po Yi joined the New York office of Venable as a partner in an expansion of the law firm’s advertising and marketing group. She had been vice president and chief advertising counsel at American Express, New York, serving as chief counsel to the chief marketing officer and global advertising and brand management group.

With Political Ad Profits, Swing-State TV Stations Are Hot Properties

When Allbritton, the media company that owns Politico, put its seven television stations up for sale this spring, analysts quickly singled out one as the most attractive: WJLA, the company’s ABC-affiliated station in Washington. It is the biggest of the bunch, the best known and, perhaps most important, a magnet for political spending.

WJLA banked $33 million in election-related advertising last year. Only three stations in the United States earned more, and two of those were also in Washington. That’s because the stations’ signals reach citizens in a crucial battleground state, Virginia, as well as the political power brokers in the nation’s capital. If Allbritton were to sell WJLA by itself, it could fetch $300 million.

That math helps explain why Gannett paid $1.5 billion for 20 stations last month, why the Tribune Company agreed last week to pay $2.7 billion for 19 stations â€" and why more consolidation in the marketplace is forecast for later this year.

The increasingly expensive elections that play out across the country every two years are making stations look like a smart investment, with the revenue piling up each time a candidate says “I approve this message.”

Despite an array of digital alternatives and a rapidly transforming television business, 30-second commercials remain one of the most valuable tools of campaigns and political action committees. As Leslie Moonves, the chief executive of the CBS Corporation, which owns 29 stations, memorably said last year, “Super PACs may be bad for America, but they’re very good for CBS.”

Next year’s midterm elections will be a boon to stations as well, and “2016 could be amazing,” said Mark Fratrik, the chief economist for BIA/Kelsey, a media research firm and consultancy.

Station owners have come to dread what they call “odd years,” like 2013, when there is little political spending. For stations blessed to be in swing states, political ads routinely represent a third of their overall ad revenue in election years..

For instance, WBNS, the highest-rated station in Columbus, Ohio, grossed about $50 million in advertising last year, of which at least $20 million was attributed to campaign spending. Columbus is the nation’s 32nd largest TV market.

Contrast that to the next biggest market, KSTU, the most popular station in Salt Lake City. Kantar Media estimates that KSTU brought in about $29 million in advertising last year.

On paper, these two stations are equals; WBNS came out far ahead because Columbus was in the middle of a hotly contested race between President Obama and Mitt Romney to win Ohio’s 18 electoral votes.

Mr. Fratrik said that stations in Ohio enjoyed, on average, a 38 percent increase in total ad revenue last year, in large part because of political spending. The increases were more than 40 percent for some stations in Wisconsin, where a recall election for governor added to the political drama. One of the stations being bought by Tribune is up the road from Columbus in Cleveland. Another is in Milwaukee. Two others are in Virginia, and one is in Colorado.

As he talked up Tribune’s acquisition to investors this week, Peter Liguori, Tribune’s chief executive, made sure to mention the increased exposure to swing-state advertising.

Analysts say the surge in station consolidation this year has also been driven by low interest rates and by an enormous rise in retransmission fees for stations, which are the equivalent of per-subscriber fees for cable channels like ESPN and MTV. Some stations now earn 40 to 50 cents a month from each cable and satellite subscriber.

But those fees currently account for about 10 percent of station revenue, and even if they double in the next five years, as the research firm SNL Kagan predicts, advertising revenue will remain the most important part of the station business. Thus, political advertising is a lifeline, even if the sheer volume of ads sometimes makes viewers want to hurl the remotes at their sets.

“We get complaints from viewers,” Michael J. Fiorile, the chief executive of WBNS’s owner, the Dispatch Broadcast Group, acknowledged. “The bigger complaints are from regular advertisers who really get pushed off the air.”

“Don’t get me wrong,” he added with a chuckle. “It’s a good problem for us to have.”

With Political Ad Profits, Swing-State TV Stations Are Hot Properties

When Allbritton, the media company that owns Politico, put its seven television stations up for sale this spring, analysts quickly singled out one as the most attractive: WJLA, the company’s ABC-affiliated station in Washington. It is the biggest of the bunch, the best known and, perhaps most important, a magnet for political spending.

WJLA banked $33 million in election-related advertising last year. Only three stations in the United States earned more, and two of those were also in Washington. That’s because the stations’ signals reach citizens in a crucial battleground state, Virginia, as well as the political power brokers in the nation’s capital. If Allbritton were to sell WJLA by itself, it could fetch $300 million.

That math helps explain why Gannett paid $1.5 billion for 20 stations last month, why the Tribune Company agreed last week to pay $2.7 billion for 19 stations â€" and why more consolidation in the marketplace is forecast for later this year.

The increasingly expensive elections that play out across the country every two years are making stations look like a smart investment, with the revenue piling up each time a candidate says “I approve this message.”

Despite an array of digital alternatives and a rapidly transforming television business, 30-second commercials remain one of the most valuable tools of campaigns and political action committees. As Leslie Moonves, the chief executive of the CBS Corporation, which owns 29 stations, memorably said last year, “Super PACs may be bad for America, but they’re very good for CBS.”

Next year’s midterm elections will be a boon to stations as well, and “2016 could be amazing,” said Mark Fratrik, the chief economist for BIA/Kelsey, a media research firm and consultancy.

Station owners have come to dread what they call “odd years,” like 2013, when there is little political spending. For stations blessed to be in swing states, political ads routinely represent a third of their overall ad revenue in election years..

For instance, WBNS, the highest-rated station in Columbus, Ohio, grossed about $50 million in advertising last year, of which at least $20 million was attributed to campaign spending. Columbus is the nation’s 32nd largest TV market.

Contrast that to the next biggest market, KSTU, the most popular station in Salt Lake City. Kantar Media estimates that KSTU brought in about $29 million in advertising last year.

On paper, these two stations are equals; WBNS came out far ahead because Columbus was in the middle of a hotly contested race between President Obama and Mitt Romney to win Ohio’s 18 electoral votes.

Mr. Fratrik said that stations in Ohio enjoyed, on average, a 38 percent increase in total ad revenue last year, in large part because of political spending. The increases were more than 40 percent for some stations in Wisconsin, where a recall election for governor added to the political drama. One of the stations being bought by Tribune is up the road from Columbus in Cleveland. Another is in Milwaukee. Two others are in Virginia, and one is in Colorado.

As he talked up Tribune’s acquisition to investors this week, Peter Liguori, Tribune’s chief executive, made sure to mention the increased exposure to swing-state advertising.

Analysts say the surge in station consolidation this year has also been driven by low interest rates and by an enormous rise in retransmission fees for stations, which are the equivalent of per-subscriber fees for cable channels like ESPN and MTV. Some stations now earn 40 to 50 cents a month from each cable and satellite subscriber.

But those fees currently account for about 10 percent of station revenue, and even if they double in the next five years, as the research firm SNL Kagan predicts, advertising revenue will remain the most important part of the station business. Thus, political advertising is a lifeline, even if the sheer volume of ads sometimes makes viewers want to hurl the remotes at their sets.

“We get complaints from viewers,” Michael J. Fiorile, the chief executive of WBNS’s owner, the Dispatch Broadcast Group, acknowledged. “The bigger complaints are from regular advertisers who really get pushed off the air.”

“Don’t get me wrong,” he added with a chuckle. “It’s a good problem for us to have.”