Numbers

By Melissa August, Harriet Barovick, Val Castronovo, Tam Gray, Ellin Martens, Michele Orecklin, Desa Philadelphia, Julie Rawe and Chris Taylor

$600 million Revenue TV stations are expected to receive next year from political campaign ads--an all-time record

358,851 Number of average 30-sec. TV spots you could buy for that amount--equivalent to 124 days of continuous programming

22% Decline in auto thefts last year

2% Proportion of auto thefts that are carjackings

35% Annual increase in sales for the world's top-rated armored-car company since 1996

1.6 billion Estimated number of movie tickets sold in the U.S. and Canada by the end of 1999

1959 Last year that many tickets were sold

$70 million Total take for Ben-Hur, 1959's most popular movie

$428 million Gross so far for Star Wars Episode I, 1999's most popular movie

Sources: Television Bureau of Advertising, Competitive Media Reporting, Insurance Information Institute, Reuters/Variety, Internet Movie Database