U.S. advertising down 2.6% in 2008, according to Nielsen

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U.S. advertising declined 2.6% to $136.8 billion in 2008, according to data released Friday by Nielsen Co.

Declines were recorded almost across the board, as spending even decreased on Internet display advertising, which fell 6.4%.

Ad spending in b-to-b magazines fell 9.7%. Ad expenditures in other print categories were hit hard, too, with steep declines at national magazines (-7.6%), national newspapers (-9.6%), local newspapers (-10.2%) and local Sunday supplements (-11.0%).

Only two categories, Hispanic Cable TV (9.6%) and cable TV (7.8%), experienced ad growth in 2008.