Internet stalwarts such as Yahoo have cut staff and recast revenue plans to downplay dependence on ad sales. Although analysts said dot-com companies will eventually see an advertising comeback, most agreed that relief will come slowly. We're still 6 to 12 months away from where medium will start to rebound. Previously, the industry was dealt a harsh blow in the third quarter when online ad spending detoured after more than four years of continuous growth. Despite an uptick in the fourth quarter, the figures reflect slowing percentage growth in the online ad market after years of unprecedented development.
Some analysts have even lower expectations for Net ad sales.
Even if the market steadies, however, analysts said Internet media companies won't see the same robust growth that characterized the early years. We are not expecting advertisers in general to let loose like they did in 1999 and 2000 in the online space. The outlook is bad news for battered dot-coms, although the message among the largest players has been mixed. AOL Time Warner's America Online and Yahoo represent more than 50 percent of the total online advertising market, according to Blodget's research. And Universal McCann's Coen said that if Yahoo's ad sales are any indication, a softening in the market will likely ripple through other portals.