The U.S. advertising market is expected to reach a record high of $178 billion this year, a year-over-year increase of 5.8 percent. Advertising consulting and research firm Warc’s growth forecast for the U.S. market is the highest it has registered since 2010 and roughly double the expansion of the U.S. economy.
On the backs of the Rio Olympics and the U.S. presidential election, television advertising is expected to post a 6.6-percent revenue increase to $68 billion this year. Digital media spending is expected to roughly match television’s spending amount, although with a growth rate of 13.7 percent.
Looking ahead to 2017, without the election and Olympics, television spending is expected to decline while digital advertising should take the lead. Warc expects digital to grow 12.5 percent next year to $76 billion.
Other growing categories in Warc’s forecast include in-theater advertising, up 5.1 percent, and outdoor, up 3.3 percent. Declines this year are expected for newspapers (down 12.7 percent), magazines (down 12.4 percent) and radio (down 2.8 percent).