• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, April 27, 2012

As email marketers debate how to persuade the C-suite to give them larger budgets, arguing their work brings greater ROI than other platforms, TV continues to garner huge dollars.

In 2011, Nielsen data shows total U.S. TV ad spending was $71.8 billion, up 5% from 2010. That looks to be the first time the number has crossed the $70 billion mark.

The 2010 amount was up significantly (8%) over the $63.7 billion in 2009 as the industry moved out of the recession.

Still, the 2011 figure was the highest since 2008 ($69.2 billion).

In 2007, the number was $66.8 billion.

Email marketers are meeting this week at the MediaPost Email Insider Summit.