TV advertising declines as online surges ahead

Television advertising declined for the first time in six years during 2006 but online advertising surged ahead, according to annual figures from the Advertising Association.

The AA figures show that TV advertising fell by 4.7% to £4.59bn from 2005 whereas online advertising was up by 47.5% and now accounts for 10.6% of the total advertising spend. Outdoor advertising also saw a 4% increase to £1bn over the year.

Advertisers snubbed radio, which saw a 7.7% drop in spend, and regional newspapers and consumer magazines. National newspapers saw a margin increase and spend in directories grew by 3.8%

The AA figures also show that total advertising spend in the UK exceeded £19bn, up 0.7% from the year before.