Report: Comcast Is Nation's Second-biggest Ad Buyer

Comcast may not only be one of the country's biggest seller of advertising, but it is also the second-biggest buyer of advertising, behind only Procter & Gamble, according to a study by Kantar Media, reported today by Advertising Age. Comcast buys ads to support its cable service, NBC, Universal Pictures, the Universal theme parks, and cable channels such as USA Networks, MSNBC and CNBC. According to the Kantar study, Comcast boosted its spending in 2012 to $1.7 billion, up 97 percent from a year earlier; That figure nevertheless fell far behind Procter & Gamble, which actually cut its ad spending to $2.8 billion. The figures take into account only measured spending, such as TV and print ads, Internet display ads. They do not include unmeasured spending such as direct marketing and promotions. Comcast has said that its worldwide spending for both measured and unmeasured advertising came to $4.8 billion worldwide last year.