• Press Gazette, Thursday, August 28, 2008 2 PM

The Internet is set to overtake radio in global advertising spend this year, says a new report from Carat. The media agency claims that the Web's share of global spending will rise to 8.6% this year, up from 7.3% last year, overtaking radio, which is set to drop from 7.5% to 7.4%. While this is certainly an important move, Web spending is still miles behind TV and print, which account for 41.2% and 36.0% of worldwide spending, respectively.

Jerry Buhlmann, chief executive of Aegis Media, which owns Carat, said: "Internet advertising is continuing to drive spending ahead of other sectors in nearly every region. Internet is set to overtake radio this year to become the world's third most popular medium, behind TV and print.

"But changes in consumer behavior aren't the only reason for this. With search now central to the planning and execution of any campaign, online media brings a greater level of accountability not just to itself but to TV, print and other forms of advertising. This is why we are predicting further strong growth for internet, even when advertisers are cautious in many of the other sectors."

Read the whole story at Press Gazette »