Nielsen Reports Q1 Ad Spending Growth

Data from Nielsen Monitor Plus shows ad spending increasing for Q1 by 1.8% over the same period in 2001.

Nielsen says $6.2 billion was spent in eight different media, including network, cable, spot, syndicated and Hispanic TV, national magazine, spot radio and FSI coupons. The company tracks 15 media and will release the figures for other media, including newspaper and outdoor, at the end of this month, according to a company spokeswoman.

Network TV showed the largest gain, 9.2%, followed by spot radio, 5%, spot TV, 1.9% and national cable TV, 0.4%. National magazines declined 5.4% and syndicated TV dropped 8.9%.

Network TV revenue was inflated by the Winter Olympics in February, which partly explains the 9% growth.

Automotive was the leading category, with $1.9 billion in spending, a 10% jump. The other leading categories were restaurants, motion pictures, prescription drugs, telephone services, department stores, direct response services, beer, financial investment services and auto dealerships. Beer and motion pictures had the highest growth at 37% and 35%. Automotive increased its spending by $170 million.

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