Internet Leads UK and US Ad Spend Growth

ZenithOptimedia has dropped its forecast for 2005 UK ad spend growth from 4.9% to 2.9%, but states that Internet advertising will grow by 30% this year. Across the water, TNS Media Intelligence has predicted a moderate 3.4% growth for US ad spending - largely driven by increased cable TV and Internet spending.

Zenith has noted a 'significant fall-off in [UK] advertiser demand' in the last few months, following a buoyant first quarter (up nearly 8% year on year), which it puts down to strong post-Christmas spending by retailers, an early Easter, and pre-General Election spending.

In its new forecast, the company predicts that TV spend will grow by just 1.5% and press spend will rise by 1.3%, while radio will decline by 1.1%. The Internet is expected to continue its strong growth, estimated at 30% this year.

TNS expects US cable TV expenditure to rise by 11.6%, the highest increase of all US sectors. Internet spend is forecast to increase by 7.6% while Consumer/Sunday magazine spend is due to advance by 7.5%. The company predicts a rise of just 3.8% for newspaper spend, and stagnation for radio ad spend, falling by 0.1%.

Figures from TNS for the first quarter of this year show that US ad spend rose 18.2% for cable TV ads, 14.5% for Sunday magazines, and 8.2% for the Internet. Meanwhile, network radio spend fell by 3.2%, and national newspaper spend grew by just 2.3% as increased Internet use drains newspaper circulation figures.

Reflecting a similar pattern, the UK's Trinity Mirror group announced this week that the advertising market remains 'challenging' for the traditional print media, and that it expects ad revenues for its national newspapers to fall by 7%.

On a positive note, ZenithOptimedia predicts a resurgence in ad spend in 2006, with events such as the football World Cup encouraging advertisers back into the market.

TNS MI is online at www.tns-mi.com , while Zentih Optimedia's home page is at www.zenithoptimedia.com

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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