People shift attention to paid media

As a result, the boom in online advertising is expected to continue, with all Internet advertising spending -- including ads on Web sites of traditional media outlets -- overtaking print newspaper advertising in 2010 as the largest advertising category, according to a report released Tuesday by Veronis Suhler Stevenson, a media investment firm.

From 2001 to 2006, the average amount of time spent by the typical consumer on paid media has jumped 19.8 percent. Over the same period, overall time spent with traditional or ad-supported media -- such as broadcast television, radio and newspapers -- declined 6.3 percent, the study found.

The study expects total Internet advertising to grow an average of 21 percent through 2011, including online-only outlets such as Yahoo Inc. and Google Inc. as well as digital revenues from traditional media outlets such as newspaper publishers and TV broadcasters.

In 2010, that would put overall online ad spending at $54 billion, overtaking print-only newspaper advertising as the largest advertising category, which is expected to stand at $51.5 billion that year.