The company's encouraging industry forecast mirrors comments made recently by WPP chief executive Sir Martin Sorrell, who has said that the downturn is turning into recovery in the advertising sector.
In December, ZenithOptimedia predicted that Europe-wide growth for 2003 would be 1.8%. However, the agency says that it now knows the figure to be 2.5%
Its 2004 forecast has also been raised from 3.7% to 4.2%, bolstered by TV and radio, which are continuing to build share of the advertising market, helped by more intensive broadcasting in Eastern European countries.
The internet was cited as a key growth area. By 2006, it is expected to account for 2% of Europe's major-media advertising budgets. It is twice as influential in the US, where it accounts for over 5% of the market and is on track to take a similar proportion of spend in Japan by 2006.
A spokesman for ZenithOptimedia said: "Europe's ad recession lasted longer than that of the US and its economic recovery is more sluggish, but its ad recovery is gaining momentum."
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