US online ad revenues fell 12 per cent last year, according to data from the Internet Ad Revenue Report.

All told, online ad revenue touched $7.2 billion - down 12 per cent on last year. In Q4 Internet advertising revenue in the US declined 7.5 percent reaching $1.7 billion.

While this decline has hit many Internet operations, the decline is not as bad as it seems. TV ad revenues fell by a similar amount last year while radio ad revenue fell by around 20 per cent.

The Interactive Advertising Bureau reckons said that the overall weak revenue results were not unexpected and that it continues to mirror the experience of the entire advertising environment.

"In fact, the Internet ad results compare favourably to many other, more established ad sectors, which experienced steeper declines during the reporting period," it said.

Which is kinda encouraging, no? ®