Data Download

Put the Archive to Work

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.

Oct - Dec 2015 CSV
Jan - March 2016 CSV
April - June 2016 CSV
July - Sept 2016 CSV
Oct - Dec 2016 CSV
Entire Dataset CSV

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: "http://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 http://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: "http://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 http://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.