- Katy Bachman, Mediaweek

Ad spending in Spanish-language and African-American media fared better than the overall ad market in 2009.

Spending declined 4.7 percent in Spanish-language media and 7.3 percent in African-American media, according to a Nielsen report released today. This compares to a 9 percent drop in overall domestic ad spending last year.

Spanish-language ad spending was down by nearly $270 million last year for a total of $5.4 billion spent in Spanish-language media. Declines in magazines, newspapers, TV and radio were offset by a 32 percent increase in spending on cable TV to nearly $427 million overall. While Spanish-language spot TV spending was down 10 percent, the segment still attracted the most advertising dollars at more than $1.5 billion.

African-American media lost more than $153 million in ad spending across all segments with the exception of cable TV, which increased more than 35 percent to $728 million. The biggest spending decreases were in network TV (down 72 percent to $26.6 million) and national magazines (down more than 33 percent to $353.8 million). In total, spending in African-American media exceeded $1.9 billion.

The top-spending category for both Spanish-language media and African-American media was quick-service restaurants, which increased 13.9 percent in Spanish-language media and 19.2 percent among African-American media.

The fastest-growing category in the Spanish-language media segment was satellite communications, up 77.3 percent. Insurance was the fastest-growing category among African-American media, up 28.6 percent. Auto was the second-biggest category for both Spanish-language and African-American media, down 38.8 percent and 18.2 percent, respectively.