Corporations have signed on with Democrats and Republicans to help them through their political conventions. The confabs will cost at least $100 million to produce this year, most coming from private sources. Here are some of the companies playing a role (and paying up) to be in Denver and St. Paul.

Democratic National ConventionDates: August 25–August 28
Location: Denver, Colorado
Comcast Comcast has pledged $5 million to be the cable TV and video-on-demand provider to the convention.
C.E.O. Brian Roberts contributed to Democrats Hillary Clinton ($2,300) and Joseph Biden ($2,100), as well as Republican Rudy Giuliani ($1,000).

Level 3 Communications Level 3 Communications will provide live streaming in high definition, a first for a political convention. C.E.O. James Crowe gave $2,300 each to Democrats Barack Obama, Joseph Biden, Christopher Dodd, and Bill Richardson.

ShadowTV The official video-monitoring service provider, ShadowTV, will provide the Democratic National Committee with all-digital, continuous access to live and archived television content.

United Airlines As the official airline, United Airlines will provide reservations services and reduced fares for delegates traveling to and from the convention.

Republican National Convention Dates: September 1–September 4
Location: Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota
Northwest Airlines The G.O.P. Convention’s official airline, which is headquartered in Minneapolis.

UStream.TV The Mountain View, California, company will provide live video-streaming of the convention.

Google/YouTube YouTube conducted a “Why are you a Republican in 2008?” contest on behalf of the G.O.P. But C.E.O. Chad Hurley contributed $2,300 to Democrat Barack Obama.

Travel Technology Group The Republican Convention’s official housing bureau, Travel Technology Group, will manage the
hotel block and coordinate a reservation system that covers roughly 16,000 rooms in more than 100 hotels.


At Both Conventions
AT&T AT&T isn’t releasing its 2008 convention spending, but says it has made a monetary contribution to both the Democratic and Republican host committees, while it plans to provide devices and services only to the Democrats. C.E.O. Randall Stephenson gave $2,300 to John McCain.

Microsoft Microsoft is giving $1.8 million in technology and consulting services to both conventions. Former chairman Bill Gates gave $2,300 apiece to Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. C.E.O. Steve Ballmer gave $1,000 to the political action committee Every Republican is Crucial.

Qwest Communications Qwest Communications is providing $6 million in cash and in-kind donations to give the conventions high-speed internet. C.E.O. Edward Mueller contributed $2,300 to John McCain.

General Motors General Motors, the official vehicle provider to both conventions since 1980, is donating 450 vehicles to the D.N.C. and 295 to the R.N.C.—400 hybrids among them. C.E.O. Rick Wagoner contributed $2,100 to Mitt Romney’s G.O.P. campaign.

PR Newswire The official newswire services provider for both conventions, PR Newswire will disseminate press releases, media advisories, and speech texts.