Shows Trump hates are seeing big ad gains

Alec Baldwin as Donald Trump on ‘Saturday Night Live’

Media buyers and planners have predicted, since the moment Donald Trump took office, that the new president would have an impact on media.

Alas, this impact is perhaps not the way Trump might have hoped.

At a bitterly partisan time in our country, when it seems you’re either for one side or against it, even media has become a referendum on the Trump presidency.

And many of the TV shows airing the strongest anti-Trump rhetoric are seeing the biggest demand for advertising, sending their ad prices soaring.

During February, MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show” and “The Last Word With Lawrence O’Donnell,” two left-leaning programs, spiked to their highest-ever ad rates in the month, according to Standard Media Index, which tracks ad spending.

Maddow’s rate was up 54 percent over last year, while O’Donnell’s increased 72 percent. Both hosts have attacked Trump and his policies, and Maddow recently released a copy of Trump’s tax returns, sending her ratings skyrocketing.

The shows helped drive up the average primetime rates on MSNBC by 74 percent for the month, the biggest jump for any news network on cable.

It’s not just MSNBC seeing gains, though. The bump has also been apparent on “Saturday Night Life,” where February pricing soared by 43.5 percent over last year, to $110,000 for a 30-second ad.

Trump’s been the subject of brutal satire on “SNL,” which he has frequently ripped on Twitter. Ratings for the show are at multi-year highs, driven by the popularity of Alec Baldwin’s Trump impression.

Embracing vs. avoiding politics in the Trump era

Often advertisers prefer to stay politically neutral, not wanting to alienate possible customers on either side of the political spectrum.

But when shows become cultural touchpoints, like “SNL” or “Maddow,” advertisers may find the lure of reaching more people worth the added risk.

Besides, it’s not just anti-Trump media that’s getting a bump in advertising, though they are seeing the biggest gains.

Fox News Channel, whose primetime lineup leans right, saw its average commercial price rise 48 percent in primetime last month.

“The O’Reilly Factor” commanded the biggest price per spot, $14,000, or nearly $10,000 more than “Maddow.” “Hannity” was second at $12,500.

Tags: ad spending, advertising, donald trump, fox news, politics, rachel maddow, smi, snl