Five pensions in one minute: how much candidates for deputies will pay for television airtime

      This roughly corresponds to five average pensions of the region's residents. But the most interesting thing is not even this amount. Newsler studied the rates published by regional TV channels for placing campaign materials and found out that the cost of one minute of airtime can differ by almost eleven times depending on the platform.

      After familiarizing oneself with the price lists, it becomes clear that the struggle is not only for the votes of the electorate but also for the attention of the audience. Moreover, each TV channel values this attention in its own way.

      The most expensive remains the evening broadcast of "Russia 1," where by the final week of the campaign, the cost of a minute reaches 130,500 rubles. For comparison, a similar amount of airtime on "Deyatka TV" will cost 12,000 rubles, and on "First City" — 21,000.

      Another interesting point is that for the amount a candidate pays for one minute of evening airtime on "Russia 1," one can purchase almost 11 minutes of advertising on "Deyatka TV," over six minutes on "First City," or more than five minutes of airtime on IC "City."

      Another feature of the published price lists is the gradual increase in the cost of airtime as the voting day approaches. Thus, the evening broadcast on "Russia 1" rises from 113,000 rubles at the end of August to 130,500 rubles in mid-September. A similar increase is observed in the morning and daytime slots.

      Of course, the expenses for conducting the election campaign and social payments are financed from different sources, so comparing the cost of a minute of airtime with the average pension amount is purely illustrative. It only allows one to grasp the scale of the sums mentioned in the official price lists of TV companies.

      Only a few weeks remain until the start of active campaigning. Very soon, these rates will cease to be just numbers in documents and will turn into real election videos that the residents of the Kirov region will see on their screens.