Online Advertising to Surpass Radio by Year End

New York, NY September 14, 2007--For the first time, online advertising will surpass radio advertising spending in the U.S., according to eMarketer's report "Radio Trends: On Air and Online. "

eMarketer expects U.S. radio advertising spending to grow 1.9% during 2007 to $20.5 billion, compared to $21.7 billion in online advertising. It says radio is becoming part of a larger "audio" group.

Although the forecasted growth rate is hardly spectacular between 2006 and 2011, an additional $2.7 billion will be spent on radio advertising. Radio station websites and in-stream Internet audio advertising will be the principal drivers of this growth.

Media such as the Internet, satellite radio, HD radio, podcasting and mobile devices are potential enhancers.

"While advertising spending is growing rapidly online, it is not necessarily at the expense of radio," says Ben Macklin, senior analyst and author of the report. "There seems to be no reason why this market cannot find a new lease on life and benefit from the growth in the online sector. Advertisers should not abandon radio in favor of the Web, but combine the two to take advantage of the unique attributes of each."