IDC, a global provider of marketing intelligence, recently revealed that US online users spend about twice as much time on the Internet than watching TV. Clocking in about 32.7 hours a week, American online users seem to have found their new preferred medium. Other media, such as newspapers, have adjusted to the ever increasing influence of the web, but now TV may have to succumb to this new screen media rival.
Karsten Weide, program director of IDC, states, “This suggests that advertising budgets will continue to be shifted out of television, newspapers, and magazines into Internet advertising.” As for now, however, the numbers tell a different story:
The graph above reveals how online advertising still has a great deal to catch up to TV’s. However, statistics show that spending on online advertisements have steadily increased every year. Back in 2001, $299 million was spent on web ads, but in 2007, that number jumped to $16,590 million. When it comes to advertising money, TV is still king, but one cannot be sure for how long.
