Comcast spends $1.3 billion on advertising in first nine months of 2011

Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA) spent $1.3 billion advertising its Xfinity TV brand and other products during the first nine months of 2011, making it the fourth biggest media buyer during the period, Kantar Media said Monday.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) was the only telecom company to spend more than Comcast, shelling out $1.5 billion from January through September. Verizon (NYSE: VZ) spent $1.2 billion to tout products ranging from FiOS TV to Verizon Wireless, making it the fifth largest spender. 

The $1.3 billion Comcast spent on advertising included $685.6 million that was dedicated to TV ads and $162.5 million allocated to Internet ads. The nation's largest cable MSO increased its spending on TV ads by 20.5 percent compared to the first nine months of 2010, and its spending on Internet advertising jumped 32.2 percent during the same period.

Verizon's ad spending decreased by 18.9 percent during the first nine months of the year. Spending from the telecom category dropped 5.9 percent to $6.4 billion during the period, Kantar said.

While overall ad spending slowed, national cable networks such as ESPN, USA Network and TBS saw ad spending increase by 9 percent during the first nine months of the year. Increased spending on direct response advertising drove the ad revenue increase at cable networks. That was offset by a decrease in spending from auto manufacturers and restaurants, according to Kantar.

Spending on national broadcast networks fell by 5.7 percent from January through September, while spending increased 17.2 percent on nationally syndicated TV programs such as Dr. Phil and The Ellen Degeneres Show.

For more:
- see the Kantar release

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