Spending on advertising in Italy fell by 17 per cent, year on year, during the first half of 2009.

So says a report from Nielsen Media Research, which shows that TV ad revenues fell by 14.2 per cent, to €2.39 billion, in the first six months of this year, while print adspend dropped by 25 per cent, to €1.22bn. However, Internet expenditure increased by 7.9 per cent year-on-year, to €298 million, January to June.