THINKing

Internet Displaces Radio As Fourth Biggest Ad Medium - 08/31/2007

Well, there goes another traditional medium. Radio has fallen behind the Internet in terms of ad revenue, according to eMarketer. A story in this morning’s MediaPost says,

eMarketer’s report comes as the Internet already has surpassed outdoor ad spending, and as a recent report from equity firm Veronis Suhler Stevenson predicts that the Internet will displace television as the No. 1 ad medium by 2011. INTERNET AD REVENUES ARE SET to pass radio’s for the first time, according to eMarketer, a firm that tracks and analyzes spending trends across various media. EMarketer is pegging Internet ad spending at $21.7 billion, compared to $20.4 billion for radio.

Radio executives need to look at this as an opportunity to increase their revenues. The major radio companies also control high traffic volume websites, so they have the ability to package radio and online ads.