• by Wayne Friedman , September 10, 2012

TV ad spending slowed a bit in the second quarter of 2012 from the first -- but still climbed over 4% versus the second quarter of 2011 and is still outpacing other media.

Kantar Media says all TV advertising rose 4.4% in the second quarter -- with the biggest gains going to Spanish-language TV, rocketing up 17.8% from big gains from direct response, consumer package goods and auto marketing.

For the first quarter of 2012, TV grew 7.6% in advertising sales over the same period a year ago. Over the first six months of the year, TV advertising is now up 6% versus a year ago.

Among the broader TV categories in the second quarter, spot TV added on 4.6% -- due to strong political advertising, especially in key presidential electoral states. In other states, spot TV's growth was modest -- 2% to 3%.

Advertising on syndication TV rose 10%, with cable TV getting a 4.2% bump. Broadcast network TV dipped 0.4%, primarily because some NCAA Final Four games were played in the first quarter -- in March -- versus April the year before. For the first six months of 2011, broadcast network TV is up 3.5%.

Still, television outpaced other media categories: Total advertising expenditures in the quarter rose 0.9% to $34 billion, says Kantar. Total ad spending for the first six months of the year grew 1.9% to $67 billion.

Internet display advertising -- not including video or mobile -- fell 5.4% Reduced volume of ad impressions with some offset from higher average CPMs was cited. Print media continued to suffer: Consumer magazines lost 2.6%; newspapers dropped 1.9%; and national newspapers sank 10.7%.

On the upswing during the second quarter were radio, gaining 1.9%; outdoor, growing 2.5; and free-standing inserts, 1.5%.

Jon Swallen, chief research officer at Kantar Media North America, stated: "Third-quarter results will get a short-term boost from the Summer Olympics and political advertising, but sustained long-term improvement will probably be linked to the health of consumer spending."

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