Meg Whitman to begin airing television ads Friday

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The air wars are starting in the race for California governor. Former EBay CEO Meg Whitman will hit the television airwaves beginning Friday with the first ads in the 2010 gubernatorial race. The buy is believed to be statewide, on both network and cable television, Whitman’s campaign confirmed.

A statewide media buyer, contacted by PolitiCal and not affiliated with the campaign, confirmed the Whitman campaign had booked time to begin airing Friday. Over the next week, Whitman will be spending $1 million on ads in the Los Angeles TV market alone. [Updated 11:19 a.m.: Whitman’s L.A. campaign will run between Feb. 5 and Feb. 14. She will spend an additional $300,000 in the San Francisco media market, and $100,000 on ads in Fresno, according to the media buyer. The 60-second ad rails against ‘professional politicians’ and features Whitman touting her ‘business perspective.’ Watch the ad below.]

Whitman’s campaign refused to offer details about how much they would be spending on the initial round of advertising.

Whitman has been on the radio with advertising since the fall. Earlier this week, she unveiled a new radio spot featuring former Gov. Pete Wilson.

Spending reports released earlier this week show Whitman spent more than $19 million on her campaign in 2009.

-- Anthony York and Shane Goldmacher in Sacramento