Ad Space On A New Bridge Might Take Its Toll

"The authority began soliciting bids last week from 34 advertising companies for the right to sell space on toll booths, gates, poles, toll receipts, and anywhere else commuters might cast an eye. Massport is hoping that the deal will yield significant revenues to help with its budget crunch....The agency fell nearly $40 million short of its revenue projections in fiscal year 2002, when it pulled in $327.5 million. Fiscal year 2003 numbers haven't been tabulated yet, but Massport estimates revenues reached about $359 million....All the states are now looking for any way to create revenue and this is one of them." Specialists say that "the Tobin Bridge deal is difficult to value because there is no track record of impressions, or the number of times an ad is likely to be viewed every day, a key factor in setting charges. Those crossing the bridge into Boston every day make up much less than the roughly 120,000 daily impressions garnered by billboards on the Southeast Expressway, where billboard space sells for about $16,000 per month...."

Thanks to Connie Chung