• Ad Age, Wednesday, November 29, 2006 9:48 AM

Anheuser-Busch says it plans big increases in marketing spending, but network TV probably won't see any of the brewer's budgetary add-on. "We will be significantly increasing our total spent, with revisions in our media mix to reflect the viewing habits of our consumers," says CFO Randy Baker.

Said revisions include a "significant shift into cable" and a doubling of digital spending, he adds. He also notes that A-B's target audience now spends about two-thirds of its TV-watching tuned into cable, compared to only one-third a decade ago.

The company's heavy advertising during sporting events will remain unchanged, meaning, the likely victim of network-TV cuts would be prime-time programming. Anheuser-Busch spent $287.2 million on network TV during 2005, about 47% of its overall media spend, according to TNS Media Intelligence.

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