Forecast: U.S. Online Ad Spending Will Outpace Print This Year

8:37 AM PST 1/19/2012 by Georg Szalai

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Internet spending will grow 23.3 percent to $39.5 billion in 2012, while print will drop to $33.8 billion, eMarketer predicts.

NEW YORK - U.S. online advertising spending will grow 23.3 percent to $39.5 billion this year, pushing it past spending on newspapers and magazines, according to the latest forecast from research firm eMarketer.

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Online ad spending increased 23 percent to $32.03 billion in 2011, it said. Meanwhile, Print ads are expected to fall from $36.0 billion in 2011 to $33.8 billion this year, eMarketer forecasts.

Online grew faster than the firm had expected in July when it projected a 20.2 percent improvement in 2011.

After rising 3.4 percent to $158.9 billion in 2011, total U.S. ad spending is expected to jump 6.7 percent to $169.48 billion in 2012, according to eMarketer. It cited this year's elections and the Summer Olympics in London.

TV ad spending grew 2.8 percent to $60.7 billion last year, eMarketer estimated. For this year, it forecasts a 6.8 percent gain to $64.8 billion.

Email: Georg.Szalai@thr.com

Twitter: @georgszalai