• by December 10, 2001

Ad spending for all media fell 7.8% for the first three quarters of this year, compared to the same time period for 2000, according to Competitive Media Reporting (CMR.)

Spending was just over $68.8 billion, compared with $74.7 billion for 2000. Television took a major hit, with network down 8% and spot down 17.9%. National newspapers also a saw huge decline, dropping 21%. Magazine fell 5.1%. The only winners were cable TV (up 2.1%) and outdoor (up 2.6%).

"The tremendous effects of Sept. 11, combined with an economy that has continued to spiral downward, had a significant impact on Q3 advertising," says David Peeler, president and CEO of CMR. "The ad world may experience a slight holiday boost in Q4, but we don't expect to see spending numbers to turn around significantly until the economy does."

Network TV spending was $14 billion for 2001, compared with $15.3 billion for 2000. Daily newspapers came in at $5.9 billion for 2001 compared with $6.2 billion for 2000.

CMR also provides spending numbers for individual companies, with General Motors dropping from $2.2 billion last year to $1.6 billion this year. Philip Morris and Proctor Gamble also dropped, although AOL spent $1.1 billion this year, compared with $.9 billion last year. Ford's spending was also slightly higher. Ken Liebeskind