U.S. advertising spending in the first nine months of 2009 fell by 14.7 percent compared to the same period in 2008, according to a new report by TNS Media Intelligence.

Ad spending during the third quarter of 2009 was down 15.3 percent compared to last year, marking the sixth consecutive quarter of year-over-year declines.

There were some bright spots with Internet display (+7%) and newspaper Free-Standing Inserts (FSIs) up 3.9 percent. Online growth was driven by telecom, travel and auto advertisers. FSIs benefited from CPG companies expanding their couponing efforts as consumers became more value-conscious.

Among television media, cable TV networks audience gains led to a larger share of ad revenue. Year-to-date cable TV spending slipped by just 2.9 percent, a much stronger performance than the TV sector as a whole. Network TV saw year-to-date spending fall 11.5 percent and Q3 spending fell 25.1 percent.

Magazines (-19.7%), newspapers (-22.8%) and radio (-22.8%) lagged the overall ad market during the January-September period. Third quarter losses for each of these media categories were less severe compared to the first half of the year.

"The updated monthly trend line on total advertising expenditures still shows no meaningful improvement through October," said Jon Swallen, SVP Research at TNS Media Intelligence.

"The slump has now passed its first anniversary and year-on-year comparisons will become easier in the upcoming months. Going forward, the timing, strength and durability of an advertising recovery will ultimately be determined by the way consumer activity rebounds."
 

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