NEW DEHI - Advertising revenues in the second half of the year are set to grow more than 65 percent, says a study.

The industry logged just Rs.7,452 crore in January 1-June 30 this year, a whopping Rs.1,414 crore less than what it made in the same period last year, according to the mid-term review of the Pitch Madison Media advertising outlook 2009.

However, things may be looking up for the media industry.

“Our detailed forecast for the July-December period shows that while the media industry earned only Rs.7,452 crore in the first half, we estimate the industry to net Rs.12,325 crore in the second half. And this is a massive 65 percent jump over the first half,” said Madison Media chairman Sam Balsara.

However, this handsome growth, driven by an increase in ad rates and volumes, will not be enough to offset the slump experienced by the industry in the first six months.

“Going by our revised numbers, we expect a negative growth of 5 percent for the full year. The industry is projected to close calendar year 2009 with Rs.19,777 crore against Rs.20,717 crore in 2008,” said Amit Agnihotri, exchange4media group co-founder and editor of Pitch magazine.

During January-June, the print media saw advertising revenues plummet 32 percent, while television saw a 19 percent drop.

Cinema and outdoor advertising took a greater hit at 37 percent and 30 percent respectively. There was only a moderate decline of five percent in ad revenues of radio stations.

However, the internet media is the only format that recorded a growth during the first half, logging a 16 percent growth.