MUMBAI: In the US, the Internet is vanquishing print. The sale of Businessweek and Newsweek, two mighty magazines, has highlighted the fragile health of print publications as advertisers have shifted monies to the online medium. And now the inevitable has happened.

For the first time marketers have spent more on online advertising than newspapers in the US, according to the New York-based researcher eMarketer. Digital ad spending will finish the year with a rise of 13.9 per cent to reach $25.8 billion. On the other hand, newspaper spending, which includes advertising in print and online editions, will fall to $25.7 billion in 2010, a decline of 6.6 per cent.

Ad spends on newspapers alone will decrease to $22.8 billion. eMarketer predicts that in 2011 this gap will be broadened. According to the forecast, spending on ads in newspapers will fall again to $24.6 billion (including $21.4 billion for print) while online will climb to $28.5 billion. Said CEO of eMarketer Geoff Ramsey, "It‘s something we‘ve seen coming for a long time, but this is a tipping point." The findings predict the ad spends in newspapers to continue its slide downwards.

The company says that since 2006, spending in print newspapers has been slashed by half. In 2014, the US online ad spending will surpass the $40 billion mark as it continues with its double-digit growth.