Online advertising revenues breached the $5.8 billion mark for Q1 2008, according to the lastes report by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC). The report estimates Internet ad revenue increased by 18.2% in Q4 2008 compared to the same period in 2007.

“The fundamentals of interactive advertising spend continues to be positive, and I would expect to see continued growth in the future,” said David Silverman, partner, Assurance, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

His opinion was supported by Randall Rothenberg, president and CEO of the IAB: “We expect growth to continue, as consumers spend more and more time online, and marketers find more – and more innovative – ways to reach them through digital media.”

Silverman believes that “The cyclical fourth-quarter-to-first quarter drop in traditional media advertising spend, combined with an overall economic slowdown, resulted in a not-so-unexpected first-quarter slowdown in the growth of online advertising”

Get the full story at iab.net