Just in case you have not had the chance to read the PriceWaterhouseCoopers’ white paper on media spending for 2010, here are a few of the highlights.

Overall, as predicted, and not a surprise to any of us, ad spending on the whole is down this year. However, when looking at the data on a media tactic level, we see differences (and in some cases significant ones) between actual results and predictions made in late 2009. Of all predictions, the most striking difference is in the actual vs. estimated predictions is seen in OOH revenues: -13% actual vs. -7% forecasted.

The other two media categories which had a 2009 revenue decline more severe than originally predicted were newspaper publishing (approximately 12% compared to a forecast of slightly more than 10%) and consumer magazine publishing (about 11% compared to a forecast of about 9%).

In contrast, most digital media categories which experienced annual revenue growth in 2009 increased more than originally forecasted. Most significantly, internet advertising revenues, which were predicted to decline about 3% in 2009, rose about 4%.

In addition, revenue growth significantly outpaced expectations in categories such as internet access (about 8% compared to a forecast slightly more than 5%) and filmed entertainment (3% compared to about 1%). The only exception was the revenue stream from video games, which only grew about 3%, compared to a forecast of about 8%. A major reason for this increase can be attributed to a number of high-profile developers delaying the release of new games originally scheduled for 2009.

Print media, on the whole, continued to lag the overall ad market in Q1 2010. Consumer Magazine spending fell 3.9% from a year ago, while Local Newspapers dropped 5.6%. There was improvement in some narrow segments, as Sunday Magazine expenditures jumped 13.7% and National Newspapers increased 9.1%, primarily from gains at the Wall Street Journal.