• by Wayne Friedman , October 22, 2020

The U.S. had seen a steep 32% drop in the second quarter due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

SMI says this result is much better than the results in other English-speaking (Anglo) countries -- which have seen advertising down 10% for Canada; down 20% in the United Kingdom, and 26% lower in Australia.

Stronger results for the U.S. can be attributed to the increase in ad revenue from NBA and NHL sports TV programming rescheduled to the July-October period from the spring-season period.

Pharmaceutical drugs was the strongest-performing U.S. ad category for the period, up 19%. Automotive vehicle manufacturers and auto dealers were down 19% year-over-year.

The U.S. posted an 8% gain in the third quarter in digital media advertising -- versus declines in the other three countries in the period.

TV advertising revenue performance for the U.S. was more or less the same as in other countries -- down 8%, while the United Kingdom and Australia were 9% lower and Canada had a 2% decline.

All other non-digital, non-TV media -- print, out-of-home, cinema, radio and newspapers -- witnessed steeper ad drops in all countries, with a 46% decrease for the U.S., 49% in Australia, 40% in Canada and 37% in the United Kingdom.

SMI accesses data from actual invoices of 85% of the largest media-buying groups, as well as leading independents.