US Adspend Continues To Grow, Says Nielsen

Nielsen Monitor-Plus, which tracks trends in the media, claims that expenditure has been growing througout 2003. Adspend climbed by a modest 1.5% in the first three months of the year (see US Advertising Grows 1.5% In First Quarter) but the passing of the war in Iraq and an improving economy have facilitated greater investment.

Spending rose by 3.6% in the second quarter (see US Adspend Rises 2.8% In H1, Says Nielsen Media Research) and the latest increase takes the year-to-date growth rate to 3.3%.

Jeff King, managing director of Nielsen Monitor-Plus, commented: “Ad spending has consistently grown with each quarter in 2003. This is very encouraging and suggests a strong total-year gain.”

Hispanic television continues to make the greatest strides with local magazines also seeing double-digit revenue growth. The only two sectors to suffer spending declines in the third quarter were spot radio and outdoor.

Q3 US Advertising Growth, By Sector
Medium	Year On Year Growth (%)
Hispanic TV	19.3
Local Magazines	11.9
Cable TV	8.9
National Newspapers	8.8
Spot TV	5.9
Local Newspapers	5.7
National Magazines	5.1
Syndicated TV	4.4
Network Radio	3.8
Network TV	3.4
Spot Radio	-0.8
Outdoor	-1.6
Total	5.7
Source: Nielsen Media Research, November 2003