Scoop: Senate GOP makes massive bet on streaming

The top Senate GOP super PAC has nearly tripled its spending on streaming and social media platforms this election cycle to more than $200 million, Axios has learned. Why it matters: In a record cycle for ad spending, more political money is shifting to streaming, where super PACs have greater freedom to target voters, bargain and experiment — but platforms have more power to set the rules. In some states, streaming and social media have swallowed half of the Senate Leadership Fund (SLF) budget, according to a source familiar with the group's spending. SLF's $200M+ total for the 2026 cycle (up from $71M in 2024) includes tens of millions of dollars funneled through the SLF-linked Texas PAC and its affiliated nonprofit One Nation. The other side: The top Senate Democratic super PAC declined to provide a dollar figure for their spending on streaming. "Senate Majority PAC invested more this cycle in digital communications than any previous cycle, running digital campaigns in 12 states," SMP communications director Lauren French told Axios. Zoom in: Streaming and social platforms offer campaigns the power to target more specific audiences compared to traditional broadcast, and make it easier to measure the impact. "Its way more surgical than a linear broadcast buy," Zack Roday, managing director at Think Big, told Axios. But platforms can also set their own rules around which types of ads they want to accept. Some, like Netflix and TikTok, don't allow any candidate or issue ads. Republicans have complained about restrictions on ads that include transgender issues on Disney-owned platforms. Between the lines: Super PACs often pay multiple times what a campaign pays for ads on broadcast TV and radio because of laws ensuring candidates get the lowest rates. Online, super PACs can negotiate directly — and use their fat budgets and sprawling election maps as leverage. SLF works with platforms like SiriusXM, Paramount, Hulu, YouTube and others to lock in discounts based on their overall spending plans, according to the source. Groups can also experiment with different lengths and formats for ads online, breaking the 30-second broadcast mold. What to watch: Streaming ads can also be trickier for outside tracking. While Meta and Google provide public data on political ad buys, not every platform provides that kind of visibility, Streaming buys aren't covered by the same FCC filing requirements as political ad reservations on broadcast TV and radio. Broadcast filings can offer a preview of a group's targets months in advance, but streaming reservations are much harder to see. Although AI is changing the game, and there is a growing industry of companies offering better tracking tools. Super PACs still have to report independent expenditures to the FEC through 24- and 48- hour reports. Zoom out: Strong grassroots fundraising has helped Democratic candidates crush Republicans in dollars brought in directly to candidates. The GOP is hitting back with cash-flush committees and super PACs fueled by ultra-wealthy donors. In addition to super PACs moving more money to streaming, the National Republican Senatorial Committee jumped on a court decisions to coordinate ad buys with campaigns — giving them access to the candidate rate. It also allowed NRSC to negotiate with streaming platforms on behalf of multiple campaigns. The bottom line: It's just the beginning on maneuvering on streaming and coordinated buys. "That is definitely going to be the story of 2028," Kenny Day, senior vice president at IQM corporation, told Axios. He said the Supreme Court decision on coordinated spending "was too late for either party to really take advantage of the allowance of coordinated spending" in the 2026 cycle. Editor's note: This story has been corrected to show that the more than $200 million total included money spent through Texas PAC (not that it excluded that spending).

Read it at Axios ↗

← Front page