Internet advertising spending 'overtakes TV'

Online became the top earning UK medium, ahead of TV for the first time, in the first half of 2009, according to a report by accountant Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC).

Prepared for the Internet Advertising Bureau, and leaked to Reuters, the report found that internet expenditure grew to 1.75 billion pounds, making up 23.5 per cent of the total.

TV took 21.9 per cent of the market, with press and DM on 18.5 per cent 11.5 per cent respectively.

Guy Phillipson, chief executive of the IAB, told Reuters: "This is a significant milestone..

"This is the first major market where online has overtaken television to become the biggest single medium."

PWC senior manager Eva Berg-Winters said that the recession had accelerated the migration to digital.

The news comes after ITV audiences dropped to an all time low during August:
ITV audiences drop to an all-time low