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Web Blows Past Magazines in Ad Spending

by Terrence O'Brien on April 26, 2010 at 06:06 PM

Web Blows Past Magazines in Ad Spending
The Internet, never one to hold back from kicking someone while they're down, has eclipsed magazines when it comes to ad spending. Companies in 2009 set aside more of their marketing budget for Web-based advertisements than they did for those in the glossy tomes on magazine racks.

According to ZenithOptimedia, magazine ad sales took a nose dive from $23.7 billion in 2008 to $19.5 billion in 2009. Online ad sales actually dropped, as well, but at a much lower rate -- to only $22.66 billion. ZenithOptimedia expects Web ads, which currently comprise 12.6-percent of the market, to start encroaching on newspaper listings, which fell to 23.1-percent of ad spending this year, a number that is continuing to drop.

Overall spending on advertising is expected to increase in 2010, driven primarily by television and online ad growth. But even as market-wide spending increases, print advertising will continue to shrink, meaning more trouble for magazines and newspapers that already struggle to adapt to the free and digital ruling trends of the day. This is just another indicator that print outlets will have to find a new way to monetize their services and content as traditional sources of revenue (advertising, classifieds and subscriptions) start to dry up. [From: Business Week and Advertising Age, via: New York Times]

Tags: ads, advertising, deathofprint, industry, magazine, magazines, newspaper, publishing, top

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