Democrats, Republicans and numerous politically active groups have jointly spent $3 billion on TV ads in this election season, according to a research group cited by the Associated Press.

For TV viewers, this cutthroat election year is a riot of attack ads and media saturation made possible by big-money donors. For TV stations, it’s a stimulus package.

One research group expects TV political spending to hit a record $3 billion. … The Campaign Media Analysis Group, a unit of the consulting firm Kantar Media, projects that spending on political television ads will hit $3 billion this year. Not only would that top a record $2.4 billion spent during the last midterm elections in 2006, but it would also surpass the $2.7 billion spent in 2008, when both congressional and presidential campaigns poured cash into TV ads.

“Political advertising has been a gigantic Band-Aid for this market,” [KVVU General Manager Darrin] McDonald says.