No Immunity for the Media Business

There is no immunity for the media business. Shrinking ad budgets and a weakened economic outlook will take a dramatic toll on all sectors of the media business in 2008 and 2009 -- including the fast-growing digital sector, according to a series of revised ad forecasts released Tuesday. Goldman Sachs projected that weak local and national ad markets will create a scenario in 2009 similar to the downturn experienced in 2001 -- the steepest on record. The firm projected that broadcast networks will suffer a 5% decline in ad revenues, excluding ad dollars tied to the Olympics. It also projects that ad revenues at TV stations, excluding political spending, will fall 7% and that ad spending on radio, outdoor, magazines and newspapers will fall between 5% and 10%. Cable networks are expected to fare slightly better, facing a 1% decline.