The Economist magazine notes in
an article on its Web edition that online advertising increasingly is becoming a rival to traditional advertising. Citing an article in trade magazine
Advertising Age,
The Economist says it is predicted that the combined advertising revenues of
Google and
Yahoo! this year will rival the combined prime-time ad revenues of the three big U.S. television networks, ABC, CBS, and NBC.
This would be a "watershed moment" in the evolution of the Internet as an advertising medium, because a 30-second prime-time TV ad once was considered the most effective -- and most expensive -- form of advertising.
The Economist attributes online advertising's revival and growth to innovations and new products in the industry, most notably from Google's recent
Adsense additions.
