CMR/TNS Media Intelligence Forecasts Moderate Rise in Overall Ad Spending for 2003; Market Continues to Rebound

Business Wire, Jan 14, 2003

Business Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 14, 2003

Ad spending is expected to rise 3.3 percent in 2003, up to $117.5 billion, according to the full-year forecast released today by CMR/TNS Media Intelligence, a leading provider of strategic advertising and marketing communications information.(1)

"For 2003, we see a continued rise in ad spending," notes Steven J. Fredericks, president and chief executive officer, CMR/TNS Media Intelligence. "The spending growth seen in the last half of 2002 was clear evidence of a market rebound, and we believe the current economic upturn, while not robust, will continue to be reflected in the modest growth of advertising.

"Spending in 2002 benefited from key drivers such as the Olympics and the recent election season. Even though 2003 will not have those market stimulants, we are expecting the year to show improved year-over-year growth."

Looking at the quarter-by-quarter trends, spending will exhibit stronger growth through the first half of the year, due to more favorable year ago comparisons. Lower growth rates are expected as the year progresses into the 3rd and 4th quarters, reflecting comparisons to stronger year ago levels, when the market began to recover and election spending was at a high.

        QUARTERLY GROWTH TRENDS
------------------------  ---------------
TIME PERIOD               CHANGE VS. 2002
------------------------  ---------------
First Half 2003             4.5% (e)
1st Quarter 2003            4.2% (e)
2nd Quarter 2003            4.7% (e)
Second Half 2003            2.1% (e)
3rd Quarter 2003            2.7% (e)
4th Quarter 2003            1.6% (e)
Full Year 2003              3.3% (e)
------------------------  ----------------

Source: CMR/TNS Media Intelligence
(e) = Estimate

CMR/TNS Media Intelligence predicts spending increases in 2003 for all major media, with Spanish language television leading the way, predicted to grow 9.2 percent from its 2002 total, which closely follows demographic trends and the increasing attention advertisers are paying to the vitality of this market.

Internet and Cable TV advertising are also predicted to show significant gains reflecting a technologically savvy public and the increased viewership for cable and satellite television.

               GROWTH ESTIMATES FOR 2003 BY MEDIA
-----------------------------------------      ----------------
MEDIA                                          PERCENT ESTIMATE
-----------------------------------------      ----------------
NETWORK TV                                           2.7%
SPOT TV                                              1.9%
CABLE NETWORK TV                                     4.8%
SPANISH LANGUAGE TV(2)                               9.2%
SYNDICATION                                          2.5%
CONSUMER/SUNDAY MAGAZINES                            2.7%
B2B MAGAZINES(3)                                     3.6%
NEWSPAPERS (National and Local)                      2.6%
RADIO(4) (Local, network and national spot)          3.8%
OUTDOOR                                              3.4%
INTERNET(5)                                          7.4%
-----------------------------------------       ---------------

Source: CMR/TNS Media Intelligence

About CMR/TNS Media Intelligence

CMR/TNS Media Intelligence offers strategic advertising and marketing communications information to advertising agencies, advertisers, broadcasters and publishers. The company's tracking technologies collect occurrence and expenditure data, as well as the creative executions of more than 1.7 million brands across 15 media. CMR/TNS is headquartered in New York City and maintains sales locations in major markets throughout the United States.

Within the Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS) organization, CMR/TNS stands as a key member of TNS Media Intelligence. This group, dedicated to worldwide media analysis, provides advertising expenditure tracking, evaluation and consultative services for broadcast, Internet and print media, in addition to news monitoring capabilities. TNS Media Intelligence is the market leader in the U.S. and France, with significant operations in Europe and Asia. For further information, visit www.cmr.com.

Through its international network of 230 offices in more than 50 countries, TNS provides market information services in over 100 countries to national and multi-national organizations. It is ranked as the fourth largest market information group in the world. Further information on TNS is available from the corporate web site: www.tnsofres.com.

This release and prior releases are available on the CMR/TNS Media Intelligence web site at www.cmr.com

(1) Figures are based on CMR's Stradegy(2) multimedia ad

expenditure database across all measured media, including:

network TV, spot TV, cable TV, syndication, Spanish language

network TV, consumer magazines, Sunday magazines, newspapers

(local and media), network radio, spot radio, local radio and

outdoor.

(2) Spanish language network TV includes expenditures from

Univision and Telemundo.