• by John Gaffney , June 25, 2002

Advertising spending is expected to rise 2.5% for 2002 to 109.1 billion, according to the mid-year estimate released today by CMR. Overall, 2002 shapes up to be a better year than 2001.

CMR says positive revenue gains impacting today’s advertising marketplace include the better-than-expected broadcast upfront, fall elections and the continued growth in Spanish Language TV.

“We are off to a good start this year, which suggests a rebound over last year,” said David Peeler, president and CEO of CMR. “All and all, we can expect three factors to boost the market this year: the impact of the upfront on the broadcast season, the upcoming elections in November and the continued growth of Spanish Language television. Nonetheless, despite the improvement over 2001, full year 2002 will be down 6.7% when compared to the high-water mark of 2000.”

The upcoming elections in November will provide added spending for spot television, local newspapers and radio advertising across markets in states with significant Congressional and statewide races. For Spanish Language TV, CMR predicts to lead spending in 2002 by 10.4%.

Peeler noted, “Year-over-year, CMR has tracked a healthy double-digit growth pattern for this medium, which has surprisingly outpaced the trend for the market in general. Interestingly, in the midst of the recession, Spanish Language TV grew by 14%.”

CMR estimates that total ad spending for the first half of 2002 will show a slight decline, down 0.4% compared to the same timeframe in 2001. In retrospect, without the $986 million in ad spending on the Winter Olympics, the first half of 2001 would be down 2.2%.

While improvement in the latter half of the year is expected due to stronger growth during the third and fourth quarters, the second half of 2002 is being compared to the particularly depressed levels of 2001.