New surveys show rises in third-quarter ad revenues for America's broadcast TV and online publishing industries.
A study by the Television Bureau of Advertising found that Q3 adspend on broadcast TV edged up 0.8% year-on-year to $9.76 billion (€8.20bn; £5.72bn).
Within this sector, ad income at broadcast networks surged 5.3% to $4.6bn, while syndicated TV saw a 17.8% jump to $833 million. However, local broadcast advertising tumbled 6.3% to $4.2bn.
"Local broadcast television stations," explained TVB president Chris Rohrs, "enjoyed a major influx of political dollars during the third quarter of 2002, so no one should be surprised that this year's third quarter suffered in comparison."
As for advertisers, auto firms -- the highest-spending category -- reduced their broadcast television outlay by 0.2% in the third quarter. However, car and truck dealers, the third largest category, raised their ad investment by 12.8%.
Over the first three quarters of 2003, total broadcast TV advertising climbed 1.7% to $30.3bn. There were rises for both network (+2.7%) and syndicated TV (+16.4%), while local stations slipped 2.3%.
• Separately, the Online Publishers Association reported a year-on-year surge in third-quarter ad revenues among leading internet publishers.
The OPA's poll of 26 member firms, among them the online units of the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, found a 44% leap in Q3 advertising. For the first three quarters combined, ad income jumped 38%.
Data sourced from: multiple sources; additional content by WARC staff
