So far TV was the most popular medium chosen by advertisers in the United States, given its widespread reach and long standing reputation for accountability. In 2019, TV advertising spending in the U.S. reached 70 billion U.S. dollars. Television ad spending, however, is projected to lose its top position in the industry soon. Digital advertising spending has seen an unprecedented growth in the last few years, and is expected to become the biggest ad medium in the U.S. Digital advertising spending was forecast to surpass 200 billion U.S. dollars by 2023, with the pandemic only slightly slowing it down. What is more, mobile advertising spending is set tor drive digital growth; in 2019 ad expenditures on mobile were in the lead compared to video and social. This gap was projected to increase even further from then on.
Parallel to television and digital advertising, more traditional media, such as radio and print, have seen their ad market share decrease in the past few years, as advertisers turn to digital formats. The year 2020 has not been merciful to radio either. Industry estimates saw radio advertising spending drop by three billion U.S. dollars that year and only slightly recover in 2021 to continue on a downward trajectory since then. Print advertising spending is set on a similar road, with the exception that no recovery in 2021 is being projected for the medium. Lastly, OOH advertising, which has suffered greatly due to the pandemic as well, is believed to improve in the coming years, largely driven by digital's growth.
