Carat Expects U.S. Spending on TV to Grow 3% in 2014

Media agency Carat says it is optimistic about the U.S. ad market, and forecasts that spending on TV will rise 3% this year.

Overall, Carat sees 4.9% growth in the advertising market this year--up from an early forecast of 4.3%--and 4.6% growth next year “thanks to a continually improving economic landscape.”

The increases will put U.S. ad spending ahead of their pre-recession peak for the first time by the end of 2014.

In its forecast, Carat says U.S. digital spending will grow faster than all other media, posting a 16% gain, with mobile up 37% and online video spending jumping 40%. 

Globally, Carat sees ad spending increasing 5% this year, up from a previous forecast of 4.8%. Carat’s forecast of a 5% gain in 2015 is unchanged.

Spending in Western Europe is predicted to turn positive after two years of declining ad spending, boosted by a strong market in the U.K.

Growth will be faster in the Asia Pacific and Latin America regions, with some markets in those regions showing double digit increases.

Worldwide, spending on digital is expected to increase 16.1% in 2014, with its share of spending hitting 20.5% in 20014 and 22.6% in 2015.

(Photo via Andrew Magill's FlickrImage taken on March 18, 2014 and used per Creative Commons 2.0 license. The photo was cropped to fit 3x4 aspect ratio.)

Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.