• Broadcasting & Cable, Thursday, February 15, 2007 11:15 AM

Local print publishers have done a far better job of selling online video than local TV broadcasters, according to a new report. Only worth about $161 million last year, the local online video ad marketplace is expected to more than double in 2007 and hit $5 billion in the next five years.

Publishers sold approximately $81 million worth of locally targeted online video in 2006, the Borrell Associates' report said, while TV broadcasters earned $32 million. The fact that TV broadcasters were trumped in online video sales last year is no doubt due to the print sector's steady decline in circulation and traditional ad sales. The data underscores the more urgent need for new revenue streams. Local broadcasters will get the message.

Online video ads generated the most significant revenue in the country's three largest markets: New York, L.A. and Chicago, which were each worth more than $5 million. The next 37 largest markets chimed in with more than $1 million each. However, the $5 billion forecast for 2011, at the moment anyway, looks dubious. At the current rate of growth, it would be shocking if online video hit $5 billion in spending by 2011, let alone local. Right now, we're talking about a small (and new) market.

Read the whole story at Broadcasting & Cable »