2006 saw newspapers and radio lose substantial market share to online in the US, according to data just released from Nielsen’s ad expenditure monitoring service.

Online advertising grew by 35% and outdoor by a healthy 8% in 2006, whilst network radio dropped by 2.5% and local newspapers 3.5% in a market where national newspapers are few and far between. The hot categories in 2006 were pharmaceuticals with 15% growth and mobile telephone services which rose by over 10%. Overall, US advertising expenditure climbed 4.6% to be worth $139 billion.