The global growth in internet advertising is set to continue into 2008 and beyond, increasing its market share beyond that of radio in the process, it has been predicted.Figures from media buyers ZenithOptimedia have estimated that expenditure on internet advertising in the UK - already among the highest in the world - will rise from ten per cent to 11 per cent of overall market share within the next two years.
Global spend will see the internet account for eight per cent of the entire advertising sector during the same period, in comparison to the 7.9 per cent share expected to be taken by radio.
"The UK is blazing a trail for the rest of the world. We have been enjoying stellar growth mainly because broadband connections are getting faster and cheaper," said Internet Advertising Bureau chief executive Guy Phillipson, speaking to the Times.
But print spending will decrease in the face of competition from online resources, ZenithOptimedia suggest.
Previous predictions had forecast that internet expenditure would not overtake radio until 2009, but online growth has proven to be more significant than was expected.
The media buyers said that online spend rose by 33 per cent over the course of the past year, reaching $24.9 billion (£12.5 billion) during 2006.
A number of major international events will push spend still further in 2008, with the Euro2008 football championships and the Beijing Olympics among the main factors. ZenithOptimedia's findings are supported by recent figures from eMarketer.com, which cited both the Olympics and the US presidential elections as drivers of an estimated 22 per cent rise in US spend next year.
