US advertising market: online outstrips television

 In 2008, for the first time, US companies will spend more money on online activities than on television, radio and cinema advertising combined. Online advertising cannot be described as a winner. The lion's share of investment will flow into companies' own websites. This was determined by the US consulting firm Outsell. Chuck Richard, author of the study, says: "For decades, media such as TV, radio and cinema were the channel par excellence for reaching companies' target groups. Today, companies are no longer as reliant on them." Overall, US companies are already pumping 65.1 billion dollars into their own online offerings - in other words, over 60 percent of the 105.3 billion dollars that will flow into the internet this year. In order to stay in business, US publishers are therefore increasingly relying on designing their own websites for companies.