CCTV ad sales up 15% year on year

By Ding Qingfen (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-11-19 16:37

CCTV's 2009 prime-time advertising auction was held yesterday, raising bids totaling 9.26 billion yuan ($1.36 billion), an increase of 15 percent compared to last year at 8.03 billion yuan.

It's a healthy sign that companies at home and abroad are still confident in the growth potential of the Chinese economy amid global economic turbulence, experts said.

Although the advertising expenditure spent on CCTV will increase next year, the number of new companies attending this year's auction also grew, accounting for about one-third of the total, mostly small- and medium-sized companies.

Companies that bid for airtime were from sectors closely related to consumer lifestyle services and products, such as beverages, food and medical and health. And the volume of advertising bid by financial and insurance companies also expanded significantly this year.

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