Ad spending dropped 2% in the third quarter from the previous year despite the Olympics and presidential election, TNS Media Intelligence reported Thursday.
For the first nine months of 2008, total spending was down 1.7%, but most national TV categories showed gains, with network up 3%, cable up 3.7% and syndication ahead 9%. Spot TV was down 2.6%.
Internet advertising registered a 7% gain.
“Media ad spending, which began tiptoeing into negative territory in early 2007, has crossed an inflection point in the past six months as the economic downturn has become more widespread,” said Jon Swallen, senior VP for research at TNS Media Intelligence. “Preliminary data from the fourth quarter indicate a further slackening of the overall advertising market.”
The Summer Olympics gave network TV a third-quarter boost, turning a decline over the first six months into a gain. Cable TV was helped by limited exposure to the Writers Guild of America strike and successful summer programming.