Ad Spending on Linear TV Down 7% in February, Guideline Says

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Spending hits lowest level since 2017

Dish Media Addressable
(Image credit: Dish Media)

Ad spending on linear TV was down 7% in February, according to Guideline, owner of media tracking and analytics service Standard Media Index.

The February decline dropped spending on linear TV to its lowest level since 2017, when SMI started tracking U.S. spending.

Spending on online video and over-the-top spending was up 43% for the month. 

Overall U.S. ad spending jumped 10% in February compared to the same period a year ago, following on similarly strong performance in January.

Guildline noted that February was the weakest month in 2023, especially compared to 2022, when NBCUniversal covered the Winter Olympics.

Digital media was up 22% in February, topping a 60% share of advertising spending for the first time.

Traditional media fell 6%.

Jon Lafayette
Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.