While the rest of the economy was hurting in the first half of the year--even Internet giant Google acknowledges it saw a 
fall off in ad spending--digital video ads retained their luster. And, although it makes up only a fraction of the $10.9 billion spent across the Internet advertising market, the $477 million spent in the digital video segment represents a 38 percent bump from the same period a year ago, reports the Interactive Advertising Bureau and Pricewaterhouse Coopers.
Overall Internet advertising spending was down 5.3 percent through the first six months, said IAB/PwC. It was the second quarter in a row that Internet advertising showed a decline.
But, said IAB/PwC officials, compared to advertising in other media, Internet spending is healthy. The report showed that newspapers, magazines and broadcasters saw declines from 12 to 29 percent.
"We are in one of the most difficult economic slumps in decades. Interactive is one of the advertising sectors that has been least affected," said Randall Rothenberg, President and CEO of the IAB. "In recent years the digital revolution has driven a transformation of how consumers experience advertising and media. As the economy improves, we're confident that brands will devote an even greater share of their budgets to reaching consumers as they make interactive media a larger part of their lives."
For more:
- see this data
- see this MediaWeek report