Revenues from internet advertising reached a record $4.9 billion, a 26 percent raise over the first quarter of 2006, which reached $3.8 billion and up 2 percent from the fourth quarter of 2006 at $4.8 billion, according to a report from The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC).
"The continued growth of online ad revenues clearly illustrates marketers' increased comfort with the extraordinary vitality and accountability of this medium," said IAB President and CEO Randall Rothenberg. "It reaches consumers with an unprecedented level of efficiency and measurability that provides marketers with actionable data. And the ever-changing landscape of new platforms and technologies that enrich interactive advertising guarantees that this growth trend will continue."
Online ad sales have been on a steady rise since 2002 and are expected to continue growing with the expanding broadband subscriber base, which could translate into more users spending time online offering a platform to render rich media and video ads.