Obama buys network TV time for half-hour ad Oct. 29

WASHINGTON — Barack Obama has scheduled a half-hour commercial for prime time Oct. 29, six days before Election Day and the anniversary of Black Tuesday of 1929, when panic in the stock markets set in ahead of the Great Depression.

Officials said the campaign had secured a 30-minute block of time at 8 p.m. on CBS and NBC. CBS already was juggling its prime-time lineup to accommodate the Democratic presidential candidate, moving back an episode of "The New Adventures of Old Christine."

Such a vast purchase of commercial time is a multimillion-dollar expense, but Obama has been spending dramatically on ads, overshadowing rival John McCain and the Republican National Committee.

Campaign officials declined to say what Obama will discuss during the TV ad.

Under federal rules, the networks must offer similar spots to McCain at the same rate, said Chris Werner, partner in LUC Media, a Democratic-leaning political ad-buying firm that did not work on the deal.

Political campaigns, under law, pay a discounted amount for ad time.

"The nets will likely call McCain and say, 'you want?' " Werner said. "But one guy may be able to pay for it, and the other guy not."

McCain spokesman Brian Rogers declined to comment.

Short political spots have been the traditional way for politicians to communicate with voters. But a prime-time, sitcom length commercial would provide Obama an opportunity to make a closing argument to the country.

"It's a luxury to be able to afford that kind of communication," said Tad Devine, a Democratic media consultant who was a senior adviser to John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign.

Information from Bloomberg News is included in this report.