According to The Pitch-Madison report, the industry would witness a fall of 5% in 2009 against a growth of 2% it had forecasted in January.

According to the mid-term report, the advertising and media industry saw just Rs7,452 crore in ad spends in the first half of 2009, a staggering Rs1,414 crore less than ad spends in the same period last year. “The industry is expected to close calendar year 2009 with Rs19,777 crore against Rs20,717 crore in 2008,” said exchange4media Group co-founder and Pitch editor Amit Agnihotri. As the growth rate of the industry dips to an average of 17 – 18%, the Rs 21,000 crore industry witnesses a major setback.

Zenith Optimedia group predicted in its report released 14 April 2009 that ad spending in India will grow by 6.4% in 2009, half the 13% growth it had predicted in December 2008. WPP Group Plc’s global media specialist GroupM recently said ad spends in 2009 in India would grow 6%, down from the 8.9% it had previously predicted.

According to the Madison-Pitch study, advertising revenue has been hit across media. Print media has seen a 32% drop in the first half of the year compared with the previous year; and television, 19%. Only the Internet saw an increase in ad revenue, by 16%.
The industry however feels that the worst is over and growth seems to be on the cards in the future.