In the first quarter of 2008, online advertising amounted to US$5.8 billion, and is expected to grow to $105.3 billion, outstripping the $98.5 billion that is spent on TV, radio and film advertising, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday.

Outsell Inc. data shows that companies may invest $147 billion on print advertising, a 12 percent growth since 2007.

Although online advertising may increase by 12.3 percent this year, a large part of the money may be dedicated to promoting the media companies themselves as opposed to marketing firms or display ads. Around 62 percent of advertising is the expected expenditure by media companies' on their own sites, according to the LA Times.

"For more than decades, media companies have been the channels for advertisers to reach audiences. Suddenly companies don't rely completely on them," Chuck Richard, Outsell's top analyst, told the LA Times.

Outsell also predicted that even though advertisers may spend over 35percent of their budget on print media, only a third of that will be spent on newspapers, which is a 4 percent decrease since last year.