• The Wall Street Journal, Tuesday, December 16, 2008 11:45 AM

Is nothing sacred? According to NBC Universal, ad sales for online video are also slowing down in this economy, casting a shadow over one of the few bright spots in the sullen economy.

TV executives in particular had pinned high hopes on online video as sales of TV ads grow sluggish. Online video was growing at an explosive rate and was not expected to significantly diminish. But apparently nothing is safe in the current economic climate, as even Hulu ad sales have slowed: While it's entire inventory was sold out as recently as August, that is no longer the case.

Behind the slowdown are problems in the system itself, say media buyers. Premium online video entertainment is still too difficult to buy, and rates are too high and the audiences are too small.

Read the whole story at The Wall Street Journal »