Benchmark analyst Daniel Kurnos said he thinks the particularly strong political environment for broadcasters in 2018 may be being overlooked. Kantar Media/CMAG predicts a 14% increase in 2018 political spending versus 2014 levels, which is ahead of the 8-12% increase most common during comparable political cycles, the analyst noted. Nexstar (NXST) has the greatest overall political exposure among broadcasters in contested states, said Kurnos, who forecasts Nexstar and Meredith (MDP) can grow political revenue 7% and 15%, respectively, compared to 2014. Among the other broadcasters he covers - Gray (GTN), TEGNA (TGNA) and E.W. Scripps (SSP) - Kurnos models flat political revenue vs. 2014 but said this may be "a highly conservative initial outlook."