Opinion: Barack Obama’s campaign goes prime time

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Barack Obama’s campaign has purchased a half-hour of prime airtime on CBS, Obama spokesman Jen Psaki confirms. The campaign plans to air a special on CBS at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 29 -- less than one week before election day.

Psaki would not confirm whether the campaign plans to buy slots on other networks. According to an article in the Hollywood Reporter, the trade industry publication that broke the news, the campaign is in talks to also buy time on NBC and Fox.

The campaign’s move is unusual, but not unprecedented. Right before the 1992 presidential election, Independent candidate Ross Perot’s aired a series of 30-minute campaign ads on prime-time TV. More than 16.5 million people tuned in to watch the Republican billionaire’s broadcast, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

UPDATE: The Obama campaign confirms that it has also bought a chunk of time on NBC and Fox (although the campaign ad won’t air on Fox if there is a World Series game that night).

-- Kate Linthicum