Google and Facebook dominance forecast to rise

Google and Facebook are set to attract 84 percent of global spending on digital advertising, excluding China, in 2017, according to a forecast from GroupM, the WPP-owned media buying agency, underscoring concerns that the two technology companies have become a digital duopoly. The research predicts that total global ad spending will increase by about $23 billion, or 4.3 percent, in 2018. “Digital accounts for most of this growth and that means Google and Facebook,” said Adam Smith, futures director of GroupM. Excluding China, global spending on digital advertising in 2017 will be around $100bn, according to GroupM, with the dominance of Google and Facebook coming at the expense of other companies in traditional and online media.