CNN asks 40x usual price for GOP debate ads

Many have watched—some with horror, some with glee—the media clamoring to cover anything and everything uttered, spoken, proclaimed or lately babbled by GOP front-runner Donald Trump. Along with everything else good and bad, Donald Trump makes for Great TV -- at least for American audiences.

Regardless of personal politics, people in general, and pundits in particular, seem unable to stop watching this ongoing drama unfold. To some it’s marvelous. To others, a nightmare. To train wrecks, it's direct competition.

And, if you’ve positioned yourself to be one of the mainline messengers, a potential profit center:

(Advertising Age) CNN is asking 40 times its normal rate for commercial time in the next Republican debate.

The cable news network is charging as much as $200,000 for a 30-second spot in the prime-time brawl taking place on Sept. 16, according to a media buyer. This is on par with the cost of buying commercial time in some broadcast prime-time series.
Typically, an average prime-time spot on CNN costs about $5,000, buyers said.
[…]
CNN is also asking for $50,000 to $60,000 for a commercial in the debate between lower-ranking candidates that will take place earlier in the day.

A CNN spokeswoman declined to comment on pricing.

It's probably safe to assume Mr. Trump will have no problems commenting.

(LA Times) The audience of 24 million viewers for Fox's Republican Primary debate on Aug. 6 was a record for cable news and three times as large as the channel expected. Based on that performance, the Sept. 16 GOP debate with Trump and his competitors at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Library in Simi Valley is expected to be the most watched event ever on CNN.
[…]
"It's a lot more than we'd get if Trump weren't in it," said one CNN executive not authorized to discuss the figure.

This, of course, is nothing new. Regardless of medium, big draws rake in more eyeballs, and more eyeballs mean more dollars and higher rates that advertisers are seemingly willing to pay. Magazines with special issues or exclusive articles can charge more for ads. Outdoor advertisers will charge more for high-traffic locations. And of course TV and radio programming with better ratings will usually garner higher ad rates.

But it perhaps also puts a little more focus on why and how a network might choose to finagle their debate’s “top ten list” in the days leading up to show time.

Which reminds me, I’m running low on popcorn. Again.