It turns out ads are worth a lot more if you know the president is watching. It's no secret President Trump watches a lot of TV and is heavily influenced by what he sees there. For example, the Hill reports Trump tweeted about punishing people who burn American flags right after a Fox News segment on flag burning. Now advertisers are taking notice. According to Politico, ad rates for Trump-favorite Morning Joe on MSNBC have more than doubled since the election.
Meanwhile, ad rates for primetime shows on Fox News are up about 50%. “The president’s media habits are so predictable, advertisers migrate to those areas,” one media buyer says. Businesses and organizations—including recently a major bank and a pharmaceutical company—are now buying ads during shows they know Trump watches in the hopes of influencing the president's thinking on an issue or getting him to tweet about it.