Axios PM

October 29, 2024
Good Tuesday afternoon. Today's newsletter, edited by Sam Baker, is 355 words, a 1½-min. read. Thanks to Sheryl Miller for copy editing.
1 big thing: Local TV's political windfall

Record spending on political ads this year is translating into a windfall for local TV stations, Axios Media Trends author Sara Fischer reports.
- Despite an influx of new ways to reach voters online, local broadcast is still the top place campaigns spend their ad dollars.
By the numbers: This year, around $11.7 billion in political ad dollars are expected to be spent locally, according to BIA Advisory Services.
- Local broadcast stations are expected to bring in a record $2.2 billion in "TV digital" political advertising this year — advertising sold by local broadcast stations on digital properties, like websites and streaming apps.
2. ⏱️ 50 million early votes

More than 50 million Americans have already voted (either in person or by mail) a week ahead of Election Day, according to the University of Florida's early-vote tracker.
- Roughly 39% of those voters are registered Democrats. About 36% are registered Republicans.
- A plurality — 41% — are older than 65.
🗳️ Context: 100 million people voted early in 2020, either in person or by mail.
3. Catch me up

- 🎰 Vice President Harris is advertising on the Las Vegas Sphere ahead of a visit to the city on Thursday, KLAS reported.
- 📺 Andrea Mitchell announced she'll give up anchoring her daily MSNBC show, "Andrea Mitchell Reports," but will continue reporting across NBC News and MSNBC. "In my heart and soul, I am first and foremost a reporter and a storyteller," she said on air. She'll remain NBC News' chief Washington correspondent and chief foreign affairs correspondent. Watch the video.
- 🍔 McDonald's new $5 value meal helped sales rebound in Q3. The recent E. coli scare could hurt Q4 results. Go deeper.
4. 📸 1 for the road

A parachute descends over the pyramids near Cairo during the seventh edition of the Egypt International Skydiving Festival today.
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