About the Dataset
The Political TV Ad Archive, a project of the Internet Archive, archives political ads and tracks ad airings in select markets in the 2016 elections.
Download Details of Airings on TV
These datasets provide details about airings of ads on TV, giving information about when and where they aired. Divided datasets by quarter are also available for download.
Download a List of Unique Ads Archived
This dataset provides information on every ad archived by the project, whether or not that ad has been captured as airing on television.
Entire Dataset
CSV
TV Recording
The Internet Archive maintains constant TV collection points in three broadcast markets: Philadelphia; San Francisco; and the Washington, DC area. San Francisco is the point where we collect national cable television shows. During the 2016 primary months, we collected major broadcast channels temporarily in 20 markets in nine key states: Colorado, Florida, Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina and Virginia. For the general election, we are collecting major broadcast channels in ten markets in ten battleground states, most of which also include competitive U.S. Senate races: Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. All of the TV collected becomes part of the TV News Archive at the Internet Archive, and it also becomes source material to find specific airings of political ads.
Note: our data may change over time as we make improvements, correct errors, etc. Downloaded data includes a date stamp, so you can track when you obtained it.
| Started | Stopped | Location | Station Name |
|---|---|---|---|
| 08-15-2016 | Boston, MA/Manchester, NH | WMUR | |
| 08-15-2016 | Boston, MA/Manchester, NH | WBZ | |
| 08-15-2016 | Boston, MA/Manchester, NH | WCVB | |
| 08-15-2016 | Boston, MA/Manchester, NH | WFXT | |
| 08-15-2016 | Boston, MA/Manchester, NH | WHDH | |
| 08-15-2016 | Phoenix-Prescott, AZ | KNXV | |
| 08-15-2016 | Phoenix-Prescott, AZ | KPHO | |
| 08-15-2016 | Phoenix-Prescott, AZ | KPNX | |
| 08-15-2016 | Phoenix-Prescott, AZ | KSAZ | |
| 08-15-2016 | Milwaukee, WI | WDJT | |
| 08-15-2016 | Milwaukee, WI | WISN | |
| 08-15-2016 | Milwaukee, WI | WITI | |
| 08-15-2016 | Milwaukee, WI | WTMJ | |
| 08-15-2016 | Las Vegas, NV | KLAS | |
| 08-15-2016 | Las Vegas, NV | KSNV | |
| 08-15-2016 | Las Vegas, NV | KTNV | |
| 08-15-2016 | Las Vegas, NV | KVVU | |
| 08-15-2016 | Denver, CO | KCNC | |
| 08-15-2016 | Denver, CO | KDVR | |
| 08-15-2016 | Denver, CO | KMGH | |
| 08-15-2016 | Denver, CO | KUSA | |
| 08-15-2016 | Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH | WEWS | |
| 08-15-2016 | Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH | WJW | |
| 08-15-2016 | Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH | WKYC | |
| 08-15-2016 | Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH | WOIO | |
| 08-15-2016 | Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL | WFLA | |
| 08-15-2016 | Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL | WFTS | |
| 08-15-2016 | Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL | WTOG | |
| 08-15-2016 | Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL | WTVT | |
| 08-15-2016 | Raleigh-Durham-Fayetteville, NC | WLFL | |
| 08-15-2016 | Raleigh-Durham-Fayetteville, NC | WNCN | |
| 08-15-2016 | Raleigh-Durham-Fayetteville, NC | WRAL | |
| 08-15-2016 | Raleigh-Durham-Fayetteville, NC | WRAZ | |
| 08-15-2016 | Cedar Rapids-Waterloo-Iowa City-Dublin, Iowa | KCRG | |
| 08-15-2016 | Cedar Rapids-Waterloo-Iowa City-Dublin, Iowa | KGAN | |
| 08-15-2016 | Cedar Rapids-Waterloo-Iowa City-Dublin, Iowa | KWWL | |
| 08-15-2016 | Cedar Rapids-Waterloo-Iowa City-Dublin, Iowa | KFXA | |
| 11-30-2015 | Philadelphia, PA | KYW | |
| 11-30-2015 | Philadelphia, PA | WCAU | |
| 11-30-2015 | Philadelphia, PA | WPVI | |
| 11-30-2015 | Philadelphia, PA | WTXF | |
| 11-30-2015 | Philadelphia, PA | WUVP | |
| 11-30-2015 | Washington, DC/Hagerstown, MD | WJLA | |
| 11-30-2015 | Washington, DC/Hagerstown, MD | WTTG | |
| 11-30-2015 | Washington, DC/Hagerstown, MD | WRC | |
| 11-30-2015 | Washington, DC/Hagerstown, MD | WUSA | |
| 10-02-2015 | 03-02-2016 | Boston, MA/Manchester, NH | WFXT |
| 10-02-2015 | 03-02-2016 | Boston, MA/Manchester, NH | WBZ |
| 10-02-2015 | 03-02-2016 | Boston, MA/Manchester, NH | WCVB |
| 10-02-2015 | 03-02-2016 | Boston, MA/Manchester, NH | WHDH |
| 09-30-2015 | 03-02-2016 | Boston, MA/Manchester, NH | WMUR |
| 10-14-2015 | 03-02-2016 | Des Moines-Ames, IA | KCCI |
| 10-14-2015 | 03-02-2016 | Des Moines-Ames, IA | KDSM |
| 10-14-2015 | 03-02-2016 | Des Moines-Ames, IA | WHO |
| 01-06-2016 | 03-02-2016 | Des Moines-Ames, IA | WOI |
| 10-19-2015 | 03-02-2016 | Cedar Rapids-Waterloo-Iowa City-Dublin, Iowa | KCRG |
| 10-19-2015 | 03-02-2016 | Cedar Rapids-Waterloo-Iowa City-Dublin, Iowa | KFXA |
| 10-19-2015 | 03-02-2016 | Cedar Rapids-Waterloo-Iowa City-Dublin, Iowa | KGAN |
| 10-19-2015 | 03-02-2016 | Cedar Rapids-Waterloo-Iowa City-Dublin, Iowa | KWWL |
| 10-13-2015 | 03-02-2016 | Sioux City, IA | KCAU |
| 10-13-2015 | 03-02-2016 | Sioux City, IA | KMEG |
| 10-13-2015 | 03-02-2016 | Sioux City, IA | KPTH |
| 10-13-2015 | 03-02-2016 | Sioux City, IA | KTIV |
| 12-11-2015 | 03-02-2016 | Las Vegas, NV | KSNV |
| 12-11-2015 | 03-02-2016 | Las Vegas, NV | KVVU |
| 12-10-2015 | 03-02-2016 | Las Vegas, NV | KLAS |
| 12-11-2015 | 03-02-2016 | Las Vegas, NV | KTNV |
| 12-28-2015 | 03-02-2016 | Columbia, SC/Jefferson City, TN | WIS |
| 12-28-2015 | 03-02-2016 | Columbia, SC/Jefferson City, TN | WACH |
| 12-28-2015 | 03-02-2016 | Columbia, SC/Jefferson City, TN | WLTX |
| 12-28-2015 | 03-02-2016 | Columbia, SC/Jefferson City, TN | WOLO |
| 12-28-2015 | 03-02-2016 | Greenwood-Greenville, SC | WYFF |
| 12-28-2015 | 03-02-2016 | Greenwood-Greenville, SC | WHNS |
| 12-28-2015 | 03-02-2016 | Greenwood-Greenville, SC | WSPA |
| 12-28-2015 | 03-02-2016 | Greenwood-Greenville, SC | WLOS |
| 01-01-2016 | 03-02-2016 | Reno, NV | KRNV |
| 01-02-2016 | 03-02-2016 | Reno, NV | KRXI |
| 01-01-2016 | 03-02-2016 | Reno, NV | KTVN |
| 01-01-2016 | 03-02-2016 | Reno, NV | KOLO |
| 01-01-2016 | 03-09-2016 | Denver, CO | KUSA |
| 01-01-2016 | 03-09-2016 | Denver, CO | KDVR |
| 01-01-2016 | 03-09-2016 | Denver, CO | KCNC |
| 01-01-2016 | 03-09-2016 | Denver, CO | KMGH |
| 01-06-2016 | 03-23-2016 | Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH | WKYC |
| 01-06-2016 | 03-23-2016 | Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH | WJW |
| 01-06-2016 | 03-23-2016 | Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH | WOIO |
| 01-06-2016 | 03-23-2016 | Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH | WEWS |
| 01-06-2016 | 03-23-2016 | Cincinnati, OH | WLWT |
| 01-06-2016 | 03-23-2016 | Cincinnati, OH | WXIX |
| 01-06-2016 | 03-23-2016 | Cincinnati, OH | WKRC |
| 01-06-2016 | 03-23-2016 | Cincinnati, OH | WCPO |
| 01-06-2016 | 03-23-2016 | Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne, FL | WESH |
| 01-06-2016 | 03-23-2016 | Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne, FL | WOFL |
| 01-06-2016 | 03-23-2016 | Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne, FL | WKMG |
| 01-06-2016 | 03-23-2016 | Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne, FL | WFTV |
| 01-06-2016 | 03-23-2016 | Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, FL | WTVJ |
| 01-06-2016 | 03-23-2016 | Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, FL | WSVN |
| 01-06-2016 | 03-23-2016 | Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, FL | WFOR |
| 01-06-2016 | 03-23-2016 | Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, FL | WPLG |
| 01-06-2016 | 03-23-2016 | Tampa-St. Pete-Sarasota, FL | WFLA |
| 01-06-2016 | 03-23-2016 | Tampa-St. Pete-Sarasota, FL | WTVT |
| 01-06-2016 | 03-23-2016 | Tampa-St. Pete-Sarasota, FL | WTSP |
| 01-06-2016 | 03-23-2016 | Tampa-St. Pete-Sarasota, FL | WFTS |
| 01-06-2016 | 03-09-2016 | Norfolk-Portsmout-Newport News, VA | WAVY |
| 01-06-2016 | 03-09-2016 | Norfolk-Portsmout-Newport News, VA | WVBT |
| 01-06-2016 | 03-09-2016 | Norfolk-Portsmout-Newport News, VA | WTKR |
| 01-06-2016 | 03-09-2016 | Norfolk-Portsmout-Newport News, VA | WVEC |
| 01-13-2016 | 03-23-2016 | Raleigh-Durham-Fayetteville, NC | WNCN |
| 01-13-2016 | 03-23-2016 | Raleigh-Durham-Fayetteville, NC | WRAZ |
| 01-13-2016 | 03-23-2016 | Raleigh-Durham-Fayetteville, NC | WRAL |
| 01-13-2016 | 03-23-2016 | Raleigh-Durham-Fayetteville, NC | WTVD |
| 01-19-2016 | 03-09-2016 | Colorado Springs-Pueblo, CO | KOAA |
| 01-19-2016 | 03-09-2016 | Colorado Springs-Pueblo, CO | KXRM |
| 01-19-2016 | 03-09-2016 | Colorado Springs-Pueblo, CO | KKTV |
| 01-19-2016 | 03-09-2016 | Colorado Springs-Pueblo, CO | KRDO |
| 01-26-2016 | 03-01-2016 | Roanoke-Lynchburg, VA | WSLS |
| 01-26-2016 | 03-01-2016 | Roanoke-Lynchburg, VA | WFXR |
| 01-26-2016 | 03-01-2016 | Roanoke-Lynchburg, VA | WDBJ |
| 01-26-2016 | 03-01-2016 | Roanoke-Lynchburg, VA | WSET |
| 02-09-2016 | 03-23-2016 | Charlotte, NC | WCNC |
| 02-09-2016 | 03-23-2016 | Charlotte, NC | WJZY |
| 02-09-2016 | 03-23-2016 | Charlotte, NC | WBTV |
| 02-09-2016 | 03-23-2016 | Charlotte, NC | WSOC |
| 11-30-2015 | 08-23-2016 | New York, NY | WNBC |
| 11-30-2015 | 08-23-2016 | New York, NY | WCBS |
| 11-30-2015 | 08-23-2016 | New York, NY | WABC |
| 11-30-2015 | 08-24-2016 | New York, NY | WNYW |
Audio Fingerprinting
We are using audfprint technology to identify unique instances of political ads contained in streams of television. Developed by Dan Ellis at Columbia University, this tool can identify segments of identical audio by comparing audio “fingerprints.” This robust open source system is able to hear past added noise, adjust to time skews, and different encoding schemes. Known as the Duplitron, this tool, developed by senior engineer Dan Schultz, is also open source, and is available here. To read more about the technology behind this project, click here.
Metadata
This is the place to see all the metadata we offer on political TV ad airings in markets we cover, including date and time, name of the TV program, subjects covered by the ad, and more. Only ads we’ve recorded as airing on TV are included here. Note: Ad airings in San Francisco should be examined closely. Since we record national cable TV stations in San Francisco, it’s possible that the airings reflect news coverage by networks such as MSNBC or Fox as opposed to paid airings of an ad.
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| network | Text | TV channel on which the ad aired. Type: text. Example: "WTXF" is a Fox channel in Philadelphia. |
| airing_id | Text | This is the unique identifier for a specific airing of a political ad. Example: "435303" is the unique id for PolAd_PatToomey_cek98 airing on May 25, 2016, at 20:50:49 UTC. |
| market | Text | Name of TV broadcast market, based on Nielsen Market names. |
| program | Text | Name of TV program in which ad aired. Example: "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" |
| program_type | Text | "News" or "not news," representing type of TV programming. |
| start_time | Date/Time | Date/time ad aired, start. Note: these are UTC times, or "coordinated universal time." Converting to local times requires consulting local time zones with special attention to seasonal time changes. |
| end_time | Date/Time | Date/time ad aired, end. Note: these are UTC times, or "coordinated universal time." Converting to local times requires consulting local time zones with special attention to seasonal time changes. |
| archive_id | Text | A unique alphanumeric id for each ad identified, corresponding with id used on PoliticalAdArchive.org. Example: to see ad on website, add prefix: "https://politicaladarchive.org/ad/" to archive_id and a forward slash at the end and paste resulting url into browser. For example, polad_berniesanders_f0chv becomes https://politicaladarchive.org/ad/polad_berniesanders_f0chv/ |
| embed_url | Text | Url for embedding ad. |
| sponsors | Text | Organization sponsoring the political ad, as it appears in the ad. Example: "Bennet for Colorado." |
| sponsor_types | Text | Candidate committee, Super PAC, 501(c), 527 etc., source: the Center for Responsive Politics. |
| race | Text | The federal race the ad is targeted toward. For Senate and House, the state is also indicated, along with the district. Source: the Center for Responsive Politics. Example: AZS1 = Arizona Senate race. |
| cycle | Text | Election cycle, i.e. 2016 = the 2015-2016 elections. Source: the Center for Responsive Politics. |
| subjects | Text | Subjects covered in ad; subject index from PolitiFact, input by Internet Archive researchers. |
| candidates | Text | Candidate(s) named in ad; input by Internet Archive researchers. Note: if only mention of candidate in an ad is "I'm so-and-so and I approve this message," that candidate's name is not listed here. |
| type | Text | Campaign ad, issue ad, unknown, input by Internet Archive researchers. Most ads in this archive are "campaign ads"--ads that are targeted toward particular candidates. However, some ads are "issue ads," ads that cover "a national legislative issue of public importance." Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules require that TV stations disclose ad buy contracts for both types of ads; therefore the Political TV Ad Archive includes such ads in this collection. Example: this ad on Puerto Rico debt. |
| message | Text | Pro, con, mixed; input by Internet Archive researchers. Pro = ad mentions one or more candidates in positive way, no negative message about any candidate (Important: this applies only to candidates running in current election and race). Example: this ad sponsored by Donald Trump's candidate committee mentions only him and does so in a positive way. Con = ad mentions one or more candidates in negative way. Example: this ad sponsored by the Right to Rise super PAC, which supports Jeb Bush, mentions only Marco Rubio and in a negative fashion. It includes references to "liberal Democrats" but none are candidates in the 2016 presidential race. Mixed: Any ad that mentions more than one candidate in particular race, with significant positive content about one or more candidates and negative content about one or more candidates. Example: this ad, sponsored by the Right to Rise Super PAC, criticizes Rubio but praises Jeb Bush. Important: if only mention of a candidate in ad is "I'm so-and-so and I approve this message," and the rest of the ad is an attack on the opponent, that ad will be categorized as "con" and the only candidate listed will be the opponent. |
Unique Ads Archived Metadata
Here is a description of metadata we offer in our download of unique ads. This list includes not just ads that have aired on TV in markets we track, but also ads that may air in other parts of the country or appear exclusively on social media.
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| archive_id | Text | A unique alphanumeric id for each ad identified, corresponding with id used on PoliticalAdArchive.org. Example: to see ad on website, add prefix: "https://politicaladarchive.org/ad/" to archive_id and a forward slash at the end and paste resulting url into browser. For example, polad_berniesanders_f0chv becomes https://politicaladarchive.org/ad/polad_berniesanders_f0chv/ |
| embed_url | Text | Url for embedding ad. |
| sponsors | Text | Organization sponsoring the political ad, as it appears in the ad. Example: "Bennet for Colorado." |
| sponsor_types | Text | Candidate committee, Super PAC, 501(c), 527 etc., source: the Center for Responsive Politics. |
| subjects | Text | Subjects covered in ad; subject index from PolitiFact, input by Internet Archive researchers. |
| candidates | Text | Candidate(s) named in ad; input by Internet Archive researchers. Note: if only mention of candidate in an ad is "I'm so-and-so and I approve this message," that candidate's name is not listed here. |
| type | Text | Campaign ad, issue ad, unknown, input by Internet Archive researchers. Most ads in this archive are "campaign ads"--ads that are targeted toward particular candidates. However, some ads are "issue ads," ads that cover "a national legislative issue of public importance." Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules require that TV stations disclose ad buy contracts for both types of ads; therefore the Political TV Ad Archive includes such ads in this collection. Example: this ad on Puerto Rico debt. |
| race | Text | The federal race the ad is targeted toward. For Senate and House, the state is also indicated, along with the district. Source: the Center for Responsive Politics. Example: AZS1 = Arizona Senate race. |
| cycle | Text | Election cycle, i.e. 2016 = the 2015-2016 elections. Source: the Center for Responsive Politics. |
| message | Text | Pro, con, mixed; input by Internet Archive researchers. Pro = ad mentions one or more candidates in positive way, no negative message about any candidate (Important: this applies only to candidates running in current election and race). Example: this ad sponsored by Donald Trump's candidate committee mentions only him and does so in a positive way. Con = ad mentions one or more candidates in negative way. Example: this ad sponsored by the Right to Rise super PAC, which supports Jeb Bush, mentions only Marco Rubio and in a negative fashion. It includes references to "liberal Democrats" but none are candidates in the 2016 presidential race. Mixed: Any ad that mentions more than one candidate in particular race, with significant positive content about one or more candidates and negative content about one or more candidates. Example: this ad, sponsored by the Right to Rise Super PAC, criticizes Rubio but praises Jeb Bush. Important: if only mention of a candidate in ad is "I'm so-and-so and I approve this message," and the rest of the ad is an attack on the opponent, that ad will be categorized as "con" and the only candidate listed will be the opponent. |
| air_count | Number | Total number of times this particular ad has aired, as captured by the Internet Archive in key primary states. Important: we capture all airings of ad, not just paid airings; if clip is replayed as part of a TV news broadcast, that will be represented in the count. Also, while this is a national total, it pertains only to the states the Internet Archive is tracking. A list of these states can be seen above. |
| reference_count | Number | number of fact or source checks from our partner organizations for this particular ad. For example, the claim that Donald Trump once supported impeaching former President George W. Bush, contained in this ad sponsored by Our Principles PAC, a super PAC opposing Trump, was fact checked by PolitiFact, which rated it as "True." The PolitiFact story is embedded on the Political TV Ad Archive page displaying the ad. |
| market_count | Number | Total number of markets where this ad has aired, as captured by the Internet Archive. Important: we capture all airings of ad, not just paid airings; if clip is replayed as part of a TV news broadcast, that will be represented in the count. Also: this count refers only to markets tracked by Internet Archive. |
| transcript | Text | Where available, the transcript for the ad. |
| date_ingested | Text | date this ad was added to the Political TV Ad Archive. |
