Internet advertising spend is providing buoyancy for traditional media, according to a PricewaterhouseCoopers report, surging 21 per cent year on year to £1.68 billion (E2.14bn) in the first six months of 2008.

The resilience of internet ad spend in the downturn turned what would have been a 4.6 per cent year-on-year decline in UK advertising spend in the first half to a slide of just 0.7 per cent, according to the study by the Interactive Advertising Bureau.

“Online is not immune from the economic downturn, but while other sectors see falls in expenditure, the Internet is still experiencing an incredible increase and is propping up the entire advertising market,” the report said.

The IAB said that the Internet increased its market share of the total UK advertising pot by four percentage points to 18.7 per cent, less than 1 per cent behind print display advertising’s 19.3 per cent and 3 per cent behind TV advertising’s 21.7 per cent share.

The IAB said it is still “cautiously optimistic” that UK Internet spend remains on track to overtake the amount spent on TV next year, despite the economic downturn.

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