Things looked positively awful a year ago in medialand. So when prognosticators say things are improving, it’s important to remember that it’s all relative.
Still, if you’re someone who, say, makes their living working for an ad-supported media outlet, it sure is nice to see this sort of thing: Barclays analyst Anthony DiClemente jacking up his 2010 U.S. ad market estimates from no growth to a 3.5 percent bump.
That’s a reflection of an “incrementally buoyant picture,” DiClemente says in perfect Wall Street deadpan. Why the muted optimism? “we believe corporate America must and will return to market its products and services.”
Interestingly, DiClemente sees the largest increase coming not from Web advertising, but traditional TV ads, pushed up in part because of the summer Olympics and next fall’s election season. Last week’s Supreme Court decision didn’t hurt either.
That helps explain why DiClemente has also raised his price targets for Viacom (VIA) and News Corp. (NWS), which owns this Web site. Click on the chart below to see a full breakdown of his predictions:
Buy This Item: [Click here to buy this item]