Supreme Court forces TV stations to sell more election ads at steep discounts
Republican victory means stations must offer lowest ad prices to political parties.
Republican victory means stations must offer lowest ad prices to political parties.
The short version
- In a victory for Republican campaign committees, the Supreme Court issued an order on Friday that forces broadcast TV stations to cut the prices of election ads purchased by political parties and joint fundraising committees.
- The September 4 ruling came in response to a petition filed by the National Republican Congressional Committee and National Republican Senatorial Committee.
- The Supreme Court order was issued just in time for the start of a 60-day period before the election, in which broadcasters are required by US law to offer ad discounts to individual candidates.
What happened
Because of the top court’s order, TV stations must also give their lowest ad rates to political parties and joint fundraising committees, which face fewer limits on how much money they can raise and spend. The legally required discount is known as the “lowest unit charge,” or LUC.
Why it matters
The Republican campaign committees then filed an emergency motion for a stay that would block the Fourth Circuit ruling, and the Supreme Court granted the stay on Friday.
Summary by Nerd News Network. Read the full article at Ars Technica via the links above and below.