Comcast is Now Second-Largest Advertiser in U.S.

Procter & Gamble holds top spot

By Tim Baysinger -- Broadcasting & Cable, 3/15/2013 1:05:52 PM

Comcast Corp. has rose to be the second-largest advertiser in the U.S. last year, behind Procter & Gamble, according to a report by the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Five years ago, Comcast was the nation's 50th largest, it said. The report states that with company now boasting movie, news and entertainment giant NBCUniversal under its umbrella, it spent $1.7 billion in advertising in 2012, citing a study by Kantar Media. General Motors was third.

In 2011, Comcast was fifth, but leaped past GM, AT&T and Verizon, who cut their ad budgets last year, the story said. Universal film advertising was flat from 2011, but Kantar said the company increased the marketing of Xfinity and telecom services by 20% to $650 million. Kantar estimated that 50% of advertising was spent on television, 12% on the Internet and 8% in newspapers, and diving the remaining ad spend among billboards, magazines, and radio, the report said.

The story said that Comcast Cable president Neil Smit wants to add cable subs after years of losses. It already boasts 19 million broadband customers, becoming the nation's largest resident Internet provider, according to the story.