Google is on course to eclipse ITV as the UK's biggest advertising earner in less than two years, the company's figures have shown. A report filed by Google in the US showed that its UK advertising revenue grew 83 per cent during 2006 to a total of $1.6 billion, or £821 million.
The company has already overtaken Channel 4, which earned £775 million from advertising last year, illustrating how rapidly the market is shifting to new media.
Google's total advertising revenue reached £10.6 billion, with the UK the second biggest single market after the US, where it earned £6 billion.
The report also showed the faith that Google has in the potential of Web 2.0 technology, shown in its recent purchase of YouTube, to develop into revenue streams.
The online video sharing site changed hands for $1.6 billion, more than 100 times YouTube's $15 million in current annual revenues.
The company believes that it has massive potential for increased advertising to its users who watch more than 100 million videos distributed via the site every day.
YouTube recently announced that users who produce its most-watched videos will be able to benefit from a cut of its revenues, although it has not revealed how much this would be or how the system would work.
