• June 3, 2004

Online media posted the biggest advertising gain over any other medium in the first quarter, according TNS Media Intelligence/CMR. The research group on Thursday released data on U.S. ad spending, and cited a 28 percent increase in online ad spending from the year-ago period. TNS reported that Internet ad revenue was $1.9 billion in the first quarter, up from $1.5 billion during the same period a year ago. Total U.S. ad spending in the first quarter was $31.5 billion, a 9.6 percent increase from $28.8 billion in the first three months of 2003. The Web posted the largest spike compared to year-over-year growth by other media including national syndication, cable TV and national newspapers, which posted increases of 16.7 percent, 16.3 percent and 14.6 percent, respectively. The TNS figure of 28 percent growth in first quarter online ad spending diverges from the 40 percent figure (or $2.3 billion) advanced last week by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers.