February 22, 2010

BIA/KELSEY PREDICTS “STEADY SHIFT” OF AD DOLLARS TO DIGITAL MEDIA

With digital revenues increasing for radio, it may come as no surprise that BIA/Kelsey expects ad spending for online and interactive media to more than double by 2014. The firm predicts — in its U.S. Local Media Annual Forecast for 2009 — that online ad revenue will grow from $15.2 billion in 2009 to $36.7 billion in 2014. Indeed, BIA/Kelsey says in coming years there will be “a steady shift toward digital media.”

Meanwhile, there will not be “a rapid recovery among traditional media over the forecast period, because we believe the structural change in the local media industry has accelerated.” BIA/Kelsey expects spending on traditional media to decline by $6.8 billion from 2009 to 2014.