Whoa: Online ad spending passes broadcast TV

Internet advertising has hit another major milestone. During 2013 spending on online ads surpassed spending on broadcast television for the first time ever, according to data by the Interactive Advertising Bureau.

TV remains ahead of the web when you include other forms of television advertising, such as cable. But based on national network, spot TV and syndication, broadcast dropped behind online in 2013. Digital ad spending hit $42.8 billion in 2013, according to IAB, up 17 percent over 2012′s $36.6 billion.

By comparison, IAB puts broadcast TV spending at $40.1 billion in 2013. TV has long brought in more dollars than any other form of media. Though online spending has been growing at a much faster pace than television for years, TV had such a huge lead that it maintained a bigger share of dollars as well. It will still be a few years before digital spending will surpass the combined total of broadcast and cable TV, which brought in more than $10 billion in 2013, according to the Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau.