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Ad Slowdown Less Harsh in Europe

When the year began, many believed Western Europe would be able to avoid the worst effects of the credit mess developing in the U.S. because European countries generally avoided a huge build-up of consumer debt. But as the year progressed, Western Europe followed the U.S. into the mire anyway. The results, however, have been less harsh than in the U.S. Europe is expected to begin turning around in the third quarter 2009.

Jonathan Barnard, ZenithOptimedia executive, expects the media economy in Europe to dip 1% next year. Adam Smith, GroupM futures director, forecasts a 1.7% contraction in the ad economy in Europe next year. For newspapers, the situation isn't as dire as in the U.S. because newspapers markets in Western Europe have been more competitive than in the U.S., and that's kept ad prices down.

The hardest-hit countries in Western Europe have been the largest -- Britain, Spain, France, Germany and Italy, per ZenithOptimedia. Overall, Central and Eastern European media will see only a slight slowdown as multinationals pull back, say experts.

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