• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, February 11, 2013

Smartphone penetration across the world’s top 19 digital markets will double by 2015 to nearly 72%. During the same period, adoption of Internet-enabled TV sets will climb to 9% from 6.6%.

Adoption of tablets and Internet-enabled TVs will expand more slowly in terms of overall penetration, according to Publicis Groupe’s ZenithOptimedia, per its "New Media Forecasts" report, which will publish annually.

Penetration of tablets will climb to 13% in 2015 from nearly 5% in 2012 in the 19 markets examined in the report.

The report identifies the top 19 markets in the world by adoption of new media technology. The U.S. is ranked 12th in 2012 and will drop two spots to 14th by 2015.
 
In 2012, the top five spots on the list are held by Western Europe: Norway, France, the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark. In 2015, they are predicted to be: the Netherlands, France, Ireland, Norway and Canada.

ZO concludes that Norway’s No. 1 position in 2012 is due to its high penetration of smartphones -- 65% compared to an average 44% in the other countries. It also has a higher penetration of tablets -- 13% compared to an average 9%.

The Netherlands' ascent to the No. 1 ranking in 2015 is attributed to country’s high adoption rate of IPTV, which will climb to 91% by then, up from 27% in 2012. During the same period, China will climb just ahead of the U.S. to reach 13th place. The UK will remain steady at 10th place.

Internet advertising accounted for 16% of global ad expenditure in 2011 -- a proportion expected to rise to as much as 21% by 2014, the report noted.

In the U.S., there will be more than 268 million Internet users by 2015 versus about 252 million in 2012. Online ad spending in the U.S. during that period will rise to $50.8 billion from $30.6 billion.

In China there will be about 621 million Internet users by 2015 compared to 553 million in 2012. Online ad spending in China during that period will rise to $74.3 billion from $41.5 billion.