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U.S. Telcos Fuel the Rise in Online Display Ads

comScore released an overview of the U.S. online display advertising market for Q1 2010, which showed strong gains when compared to the market decline in 2009. U.S. Internet users received a record 1.1 trillion display ads during the first quarter of 2010, marking a 15-percent increase versus a year ago.

Total U.S. display ad spending in Q1 reached an estimated $2.7 billion, with the average cost per thousand impressions (CPM) equal to $2.48.

"Following a severe ad recession that began in late 2008 and continued through the first three quarters of 2009, we've been seeing a strong resurgence in the online display ad market," said Jeff Hackett, comScore senior vice president.

The first quarter of 2010 posted strong volume in online display ads, coinciding with increasing expenditure from advertisers and higher CPMs for publishers. This pickup in activity should bode well for the online advertising industry as we move forward in 2010.

Facebook.com led all online publishers during Q1 with 176 billion display ad impressions, representing 16.2 percent market share. Yahoo! Sites ranked second with 132 billion impressions (12.1 percent), followed by Microsoft Sites with 60 billion impressions (5.5 percent) and Fox Interactive Media with 53 billion impressions (4.9 percent).

AT&T led competitors as the top online display advertiser in Q1 with 26.3 billion impressions, accounting for 2.4 percent of all display ads. Verizon held the second position with 21.9 billion (2.0 percent), followed by Scottrade Inc. with 16.4 billion (1.5 percent) Experian Interactive with 15.6 billion (1.4 percent) and Sprint Nextel Corporation with 10.1 billion (0.9 percent).

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