• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, May 16, 2008

Reflecting the tidal shift occurring in media strategy, a survey by the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers shows that Internet advertising revenue passed cable TV, broadcast TV, magazines and radio in 2007. The trend is especially impressive given that cable TV revenue also grew in 2007, according to other surveys.

The IAB-PWC report says Internet spending reached $21.2 billion in 2007, a 26% jump from 2006. That compares with $20.9 billion for cable, $19.8 billion for radio, $19.2 billion for broadcast TV, $13.8 billion for consumer magazines and $7.5 billion for outdoor advertising. Newspapers, despite their woes, still netted the most revenue, with $48.6 billion.

The IAB report is somewhat at odds with other surveys of 2007 ad spending, however.

TNS Media Intelligence, for example, pegged Internet ad spending at just $11.3 billion, versus $26.4 billion for newspapers, consumer magazines at $24.4 billion, broadcast TV at $22.4 billion, cable TV at $17.8 billion and radio at about $10.7 billion. The lower Internet figure is due, at least in part, to the omission by TNS of paid search and broadband video advertising, but it's unclear why there are discrepancies in the other figures.

The IAB's estimates for traditional media spending are drawn in large part from forecasts and surveys by Universal McCann's Robert Coen.