Online video advertising pants

BEANCOUNTERS AT eMarketer have ranked making a fast buck on online video advertising is about as likely as the Inquirer news team being given Macbooks and actually using them.

eMarketer thought that there was gold in the online advertising business and thought that shedloads of cash was waiting to be made.

Now it has said that it is sharply reducing its projected spending for online video advertising, saying the market hasn't been as strong as it thought.

The company said that US spending for online video advertising will drop by nearly two thirds to a piddling $505 million in 2008, down from the $1.35 billion figure it expected.

The outfit still expects the market to grow in coming years, hitting $1.9 billion in 2011 but then again it said that last year. In fact last year it said that by 2011 the industry would be worth $4.3 billion it and we would all fly to work using jetpacks.

Redfaced David Hallerman, a senior analyst with eMarketer, said online video advertising was still strong, but where eMarketer had cocked up was overestimated past spending.

The slowing US economy didn't help either, he said.

Previous estimates were based on chats with industry marketing executives and they never lie do they? µ

L'Inq

Sydney Morning Herald