According to Nielsen research, 464,000 people in the Wilmington, Delaware area will likely participate in the upcoming election on November 8th. To sway these voters, candidates and political action committees are expected to spend a record amount on advertising.

AdImpact, a company that measures advertising expenditures by political campaigns, says more than $3.6 billion have been spent to reach voters so far in 2022. This puts spending on a course to obliterate the record level of campaign dollars set during the 2020 presidential elections.

Despite crumbling ratings, through August 1st, 58% of all political spending has been dished out to local TV stations, according to AdImpact.

Nielsen reports that since 2017, the reach of broadcast TV stations like WDPN, WPPX, KYW, WCAU, and WHYY, has decayed by 10%.

No matter which Wilmington, Delaware area television station or cable channel adults tune to in 2022, they can expect to be assaulted by a deluge of political advertising. Often entire commercial breaks are stuffed with back-to-back pleas and promises to secure viewers' votes.

But is advertising on Philadelphia stations like WDPN, WPPX, KYW, WCAU, or WHYY the most effective way to reach likely voters in the Wilmington area? Or is advertising on cable channels provided by Xfinity, DISH, DirecTV, and Verizon FIOS the way to go?

The answer is neither. According to research from Nielsen, the best way to reach local adults who are most likely to vote is by advertising on Wilmington radio.

Every week, 327,000 likely voters will listen to Wilmington radio stations. This is significantly more than watch local TV, cable, and streaming video. More that use social media and streaming audio. More than will read newspapers.