A report by AdAge says that the top 100 media companies in the U.S. account for $268 billion in 2005.
The internet is by far the fastest growing, and ultimately will be the greatest distribution system, according to the report. In 2005 it grew to $16.92 billion, up by over 20 percent from the previous year. This only includes advertising and subscription fees (not e-commerce) from only 14 companies in the top 100 of all media.
Something that may surprise a few people is that Google and Yahoo aren't the number one internet company in this space, but, believe it or not, AOL is. Google was No. 19 on the list with $3.71 billion and Yahoo was 21 with $3.67 billion in U.S. revenue. AOL actually clobbered them both with approximately $6.32 billion in U.S. revenue for the year. This will change as subscription retention continues to slide, with last year's revenue dropping by 7.3 percent from losses in that area.
Still, to see internet companies this high up in the media arena, after such a short time, is a look at the explosive growth and opportunity that still reside within the space. Unless there is a temporary, worldwide downturn, this should continue in the advertising area for many years to come.
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