U.S. television ad spend was up 4.5% in 2011, according to the third and final part of Nielsen’s Advertising & Audiences Report. The report found American advertisers and consumers have a huge appetite for television, as TV holds the lion’s share of ad dollars and consumers’ media time. Ad spend for TV reach $72 billion, more than all other ad platforms combined.
Other findings:
Spending on cable TV has increased steadily over the last few years, up 42% from 2007.
The average TV commercial in 2011 was 28.4 seconds.
Spanish-language cable and network TV saw double digit growth in ad spend, up 24% and 16%, respectively, from 2010.
Automotive was the largest category for advertising spend across all media, with $10.2 billion spent by automotive brands in 2011, more than twice as much as the second-largest category—quick-service restaurants.
AT&T and Verizon were the top TV spenders during 2011 for brands AT&T Wireless Web Access ($1.1 billion) and Verizon Wireless Web Access ($702.2 million).
