• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, March 28, 2008

As predicted, Internet display ad revenues passed radio for the first time in 2007--clocking in at just over $11.3 billion versus $10.7 billion for radio, according to TNS Media Intelligence. That represents a 7.6% share of total U.S. ad spending for the Internet, versus 7.2% for radio. Internet revenue was up from $9.6 billion, or a 6.6% share in 2006, while radio revenue slipped from $11.08 billion, or 7.5% share in the same period.

The flip comes as no surprise, as analysts have forecast Internet passing radio in 2007 for several years on the strength of Internet's meteoric growth (15.9% from 2006-2007), and radio's woes, with the medium apparently suffering a secular downturn just as the overall U.S. economy may be headed for a recession.

Indeed, the overall picture painted by TNS was not a happy one for most traditional media, as total spending edged up just 0.2% for the year. TNS' earlier predictions of 2.6% growth in 2007 proved too optimistic, as marketing budgets were undermined by the softening economy in the second half of the year.

Particularly hard-hit were newspapers, where revenues fell 5.6% to about $26.4 billion; network television, down 2% to $22.4 billion; and spot television, down 10.2% to $15.6 billion, in large part because of a lack of political advertising and Olympics. The declines in the two television categories resulted in an overall decline for television of 1.7% to $64.4 billion, despite a 6.5% increase for cable. Outdoor grew about 4.9%, to just over $4 billion.