Now Airing on the Local News in Tennessee: Ads for Georgia Candidates

He estimated that Georgians make up about 10 % of his viewers. His station has seen tens of millions of dollars in political spending anyway.

“In a 12 months the place we had a pandemic, it’s actually surprising and welcomed,” Mr. Ellis stated.

Stations take advantage of cash off tremendous PACs. Whereas candidates are protected against price-gouging beneath federal legislation, the skin teams should not — and a few are paying quadruple the value for a similar airtime. In Atlanta, as an illustration, candidates are paying $6,000 for a 30-second advert throughout “Jeopardy!” and $5,000 for a spot on “Wheel of Fortune”; tremendous PACs are being charged $25,000 and $20,000 for a similar slots.

“It’s good cash,” stated Mr. Acuff on the Chattanooga station.

Among the many out-of-state media markets, probably the most environment friendly for Georgia campaigns is the Tallahassee, Fla., market, the place about 35 % of viewers reside in Georgia.

On the opposite finish of the dimensions is the Dothan, Ala., market, the place solely 5 % of viewers are in Georgia.

Tv stations in Dothan may appear sufficiently small to be ignored by even probably the most bold Georgia politicians. The market reaches a single county in southwestern Georgia, Early, which doesn’t crack the highest 100 counties in Georgia by inhabitants.

Simply over 10,000 folks reside there, or about zero.1 % of the state inhabitants.

However the margins in Georgia have been so excruciatingly small in November — Mr. Biden, the primary Democrat to hold the state since 1992, gained by fewer than 12,000 votes — that the campaigns are promoting in Dothan despite the fact that 95 % of the market lives exterior Georgia.

“This election goes to be extraordinarily shut,” stated Miryam Lipper, a spokeswoman for Mr. Ossoff, who stated reaching all voters “is a prime precedence for us.”