According to a just-released report by ZenithOptimedia, television advertising is now growing at 5.0% a year, compared to 6.3% a year in the 1990s in Canada, the US and Latin America. The combined market generated over US$140 billion in advertising expenditure and subscription revenues in 2005. That was about 20% more than the whole of Europe and Asia Pacific, with Canada and the US contributing 85% of the total.
According to the report, cable remains the most popular means of receiving pay-TV, but digital satellite is growing rapidly and attracting customers from cable. Cable operators are responding to this competition by upgrading their networks to offer better services. TV advertising expenditure has recovered considerably since the beginning of the decade. It increased at around 2.4% across the region in 2005, with all markets showing some growth. Competition from cable and satellite channels is keeping prices down, as is the rise of Internet advertising. The increase in popularity of PVRs is not proving to be a catastrophe for advertisers, but it is making audiences somewhat more difficult to reach. Pay-TV subscriptions are expected to account for almost 54% of commercial revenues by 2014.
www.zenithoptimedia.com
