Knowing When Your Opponent Buys Ads
The Problem
When your opponent buys broadcast or cable television time, they are required by federal law to file a political advertising disclosure with the FCC within 24 hours of the first air date. This disclosure is public record, searchable in the FCC's online Political Files database. It shows the station, the program, the air dates, the rate paid, and the candidate or issue committee making the buy. Most campaigns have no idea this data exists. Almost none of them monitor it systematically. As a result, they find out their opponent is running TV ads the same way voters do — by watching television.
What BMS Voter Intel Does
BMS Voter Intel includes an automated FCC Political Files monitoring component that tracks broadcast and cable filings in your media market and alerts you when a new buy is filed in your race. Instead of learning about an opponent's ad spend after the fact, the campaign gets near-real-time notification when a new political file is submitted — along with the key details: station, rate, buy volume, and timing.
How It Works (Without Revealing IP)
The FCC's Political Files database is publicly accessible via the FCC Media Bureau's online portal and exposes structured data for television and radio stations organized by market and call sign. The monitoring pipeline queries the relevant stations for your geographic area on a scheduled basis, parses newly-filed political disclosures, filters for filings relevant to your race or county, and delivers a summary alert. No scraping workarounds are required — the FCC makes this data available as a public service. The challenge is operationalizing it: knowing which stations to watch, building the alert logic, and filtering out the noise from unrelated races in your media market.
Real Numbers from the Van Buren Campaign
The Van Buren campaign monitored FCC Political Files for the Columbus media market throughout the Licking County Commissioner primary. No broadcast television buys were filed by competing campaigns in the commissioner race during the monitored period — a finding that itself had strategic value, confirming that the race was staying below the broadcast-spend threshold and that digital-first allocation was appropriate. Had an opponent activated broadcast buys in the final two weeks, the campaign would have had 24-hour notice to evaluate a response rather than learning about it from a constituent.
What This Means for Your Race
In a county commissioner race, a state legislative primary, or a contested judicial election, broadcast and cable TV remain real tools — especially for better-funded challengers or incumbents defending a seat with institutional support. Knowing when your opponent activates that spend lets you make a deliberate decision: match it, respond digitally, accelerate your own direct mail, or simply note the timing and stay on plan. The alternative — finding out after the spots have been running for a week — is an information disadvantage that costs you strategic options you can never recover.
Get Beta Access
BMS Voter Intel is in limited beta for Summer 2026 — Republican and independent down-ballot campaigns in Ohio, Florida, and Illinois. Contact [email protected] or visit bullmoosestrategy.com/voter-intel to ask about FCC monitoring for your media market.