China ad spending rises 4.1% in 9 months as Internet media booms

China's total advertising spending in the first nine months this year added 4.1 percent with traditional media staying flat due to a shift toward Internet media, a latest industry report shows.

In the first three quarters, TV advertising expenditure were up 2 percent, far below a 9 percent growth in the same period last year, market research firm CTR said in its quarterly advertising monitoring report.

Provincial TV stations' advertising income rose 6 percent from a year ago, while that of China Central Television Stations dropped 10 percent.

Internet remains the most robust sector with a 38 percent annual growth.

Ad sales of newspapers and magazines went down 16 percent and 9 percent respectively, due to the impact of an industry-wide spending cut. Real estate and construction sector remains the biggest advertiser for this category.

Cosmetics and personal care products remain the biggest spender across all media sectors, followed by food and beverage, transportation and pharmaceuticals.