CMRi estimates that Internet ad spending for 2001 totaled $2.5 billion. Surprisingly, Ebay Inc., parent company to the online auction site, took the lead from recurring online spending leader General Motors Corp., each spending $45.1 million and $43.3 million respectively.

"With the year 2002 already showing some signs of improvement, we're expecting to see an upswing in spending by third quarter," said David Peeler, president and CEO of CMR. "In fact, CMR estimates that Internet spending will lead the way in 2002, in terms of significant growth, up 8.8 percent from its 2001 total. With subtle signs of recovery on the horizon, the industry awaits the economy's stabilization, and then we're hopeful to see advertising revenues reach more positive levels."

Retail and Media & Advertising were the top-spending industry sectors in 2001, with outlays of $533.3 million and $450.5 million respectively. Yahoo sustained its number one position as the leading Web site generating the most dollars in 2001 with $344 million for the year. Also topping the Web site revenue list were AOL.com and Excite, which garnered $320 million and $127 million respectively.

Top Online Revenue by Web Site

Top Online Ad Spending by Company

Top Online Ad Spending by Industry Class

About CMR
TNS Media Intelligence/CMR, offers strategic advertising and marketing communications information to advertising agencies, advertisers, broadcasters and publishers. The company's tracking technologies collect occurrence and expenditure data, as well as the creative executions of over one million brands across 15 media. CMR is headquartered in New York City and maintains sales locations in major markets throughout the United States.

Within the TNS organization, CMR stands as a key member of TNS Media Intelligence. This group, dedicated to worldwide media analysis, provides advertising expenditure tracking, evaluation and consultative services for broadcast, Internet and print media, in addition to news monitoring capabilities. TNS Media Intelligence is the market leader in the U.S. and France, with significant operations in Europe and Asia. For further information, visit http://www.cmr.com.

Through its network of offices in more than 50 countries, Taylor Nelson Sofres provides marketing information services to leading national and multi-national companies operating in over 80 countries. It is ranked as the fourth largest marketing information group in the world. Further information on Taylor Nelson Sofres is available from the corporate Web site: http://www.tnsofres.com.

¹ Figures are based on CMRi's AdNetTrackUS Internet advertising expenditure database.

Editor's Note: Full Year 2001 Advertising Spending By Industry Category available upon request.