Internet Should Surpass TV in Ad Spending This Year, S&P Says

Online should surpass TV as the largest U.S. ad spending category this year, S&P Global Ratings announced Thursday. S&P said overall U.S advertising spending will be up 1.7 percent this year, less than half the 3.9 percent gain of last year due to absence of political and Olympics ad spending. Excluding those events, core ad spending would be up 3 percent, and 2018 spending is expected to be up 3.1 percent due to the Winter Olympics and political spending in the non-presidential year. The firm said its ratings on the U.S. media and entertainment sector are trending negative due to ongoing shifts in media consumption and ad spending. S&P said online, outdoor and core TV sectors likely will have ad revenue growth, while newspapers, magazines and radio will have continued ad revenue declines.