Internet Ad Spending Beat Broadcast TV for First Time Last Year

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Internet advertising revenue surpassed broadcast television ad spending for the first time in 2013.

Image: Flickr, schmilblick

By Jason Abbruzzese2014-04-10 16:34:19 UTC

Revenue from U.S. Internet advertising beat broadcast television advertising for the first time in 2013, driven by a surge of spending in mobile ads.

Digital ad sales in the U.S. hit $42.8 billion, up 17% from 2012, according to data complied by PricewaterhouseCoopers and released by the Interactive Advertising Bureau. Search revenue remains the leader with a little less than half the market.

See also: Study: Mobile Ad Spending to Hit $42 Billion in 2017, Eclipsing Radio

TV still accounts for the bulk of U.S. ad spending. Broadcast and cable combined to bring in $74.5 billion.

"The news that interactive has outperformed broadcast television should come as no surprise,” said Randall Rothenberg, CEO of IAB, in a press release. "It speaks to the power that digital screens have in reaching and engaging audiences."

Mobile advertising continued a torrid pace of growth, more than doubling to $7.1 billion in 2013. It is the third-straight year that the IAB has measured triple-digit growth in the mobile ad space.

Every major type of Internet advertising saw a net increase in revenue (pictured above), but most lost market share to the rapid growth in mobile.

Google and Facebook reign as the dominant figures in mobile advertising, together accounting for two-thirds of global spending.

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Topics: Advertising, Business, digital advertising, Internet advertising, Media, mobile advertising