Forecast: ‘Continued Rise’ in Ad Spending

Ad revenue for all media will go up 3.3 percent this year, to $117.5 billion, according a forecast from CMR/TNS Media Intelligence. Radio will see a 3.8% increase. Comparatively, the first half of this year will be the strongest, the company said, because industry will be comparing to the weak months of the first half of last year.
Steven Fredericks, president/CEO, stated, “The spending growth seen in the last half of 2002 was clear evidence of a market rebound, and we believe the current economic upturn, while not robust, will continue to be reflected in the modest growth of advertising.” This is true even though 2003 will not have the benefit of the Olympics or an election season, he said.
The fastest-growing media category is Spanish language television, with an increase of 9.2% projected. Internet spending is expected to be up 7.4%.