U.S. advertising demand began 2016 on a high note, returning strong year-on-year gains in January. Standard Media Index (SMI) reports that total ad market revenues were up by four percent in comparison to January 2015.

The market’s January performance was buoyed by the television sector, up one percent, and digital media, up 16 percent. Breaking down the television market, broadcast climbed nine percent year over year, while cable advertising slumped three percent. SMI credits broadcast advertising’s growth to network programming’s strong ratings. Digital's share of total advertising spending in January has increased to 27 percent, rising three points compared to 2015.

“January’s results are encouraging given current market uncertainty,” says James Fennessy, CEO of SMI. “Improved ratings, driven by the outstanding performance of the NFL, have delivered healthy growth for major broadcasters, even with a slight dip in ratings for the month. Cable hasn’t been as fortunate as revenue declines are tracking closely with softer ratings. Digital continues to deliver healthy double-digit gains, and while this growth looks to be mostly organic, there is little doubt that the print and radio sectors are being negatively affected. The one other bright spot is out-of-home advertising, which continues to build on the great momentum generated in late 2015.”

SMI’s data showed the out-of-home advertising spike in January, climbing 11 percent year-over-year, while newspapers slipped 17 percent, radio 16 percent and magazines two percent.