TV Ad Spend Rose 4.5% in ’11; Cable on Par With Network TV

TV ad spend hit $71.8 billion in 2011, representing a 4.5% increase from $68.7 billion in 2010, and 12.7% growth from $63.7 billion in 2009, according to a May 2012 report from Nielsen. Spot TV claimed the largest share of spend, at 32%, while cable TV grew 5.4% year-over-year and network TV declined 0.5% to move them into a virtual spending tie ($21 billion and $21.1 billion, respectively). Spanish language network TV and Spanish language cable TV grew 24% and 16%, respectively, combining to hold almost 6% of total TV spending. (more…)