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The golden age of digital? Digital ad spending expected to surpass TV ad sales soon

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Already growing faster than print ad spending, digital advertising is now poised to surpass television ad sales, according to new projections from three big ad companies.

A trio of ad-agency-owned research firms, Interpublic’s Magna Global, Publicis’ ZenithOptimedia and WPP’s Group M, released separate revised forecasts that predict digital media would top TV in ad spending within a few years.

The vigor of the TV advertising market has been hit by what Magna Global calls “digital deflation,” as consumers turn to video-on-demand and streaming services. The shifts in viewing behavior, in turn, have prompted marketers to invest more ad dollars in digital platforms.

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In its report, GroupM noted that while TV accounted for nearly 44% of global ad investment, that was at its peak in 2012. Since then it has shed a point per year.

Magna Global expects digital media in the United States will outgrow television as the largest advertising medium by next year -- a year earlier than it previously forecast -- with $66 billion in ad revenue.

ZenithOptimedia is more conservative with its prediction on when digital will ascend past TV ad sales, contending 2018 is the year.

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The firm expects mobile advertising will be responsible for much of the digital spending growth, estimating mobile ad growth will account for 87% of all growth in global ad sales between 2015 and 2018.

I tweet about TV (and other things) here: @villarrealy

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