Online advertising growth stalls from second quarter to third quarter

The Interactive Advertising Bureau and PriceWaterhouseCoopers said that third quarter online ad revenue was nearly $5.9 billion, up 11 percent from a year ago. Compared to the second quarter, however, Internet ad revenue was up 2 percent courtesy of "strong economic headwinds."

In a statement, IAB put a happy face on the results noting that the third quarter's tally is the second highest ever. But given the quarter ended Sept. 30, most of the effects of the economic meltdown were missed.

Through the first nine months of 2008, online ad revenue came in at $17.3 billion, up from $15.2 billion for the same period in 2007. The IAB and PwC noted that Internet advertising should weather the downturn better. We'll find out in January--when Google, Yahoo and others report earnings--how things went.