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The growth is expected to arrive on the back of continuing favourable economic conditions and tighter capacity at many of the multichannel stations.

In an update to its annual economic and media forecast, OPera revised its prediction of a 2.9% decline in TV revenues to flat growth for the year, moving into a 3% increase in 2008.

This compares with the 2% growth in TV ad spend for 2008 predicted by ZenithOptimedia in its July forecast, after expected static growth in 2007.

TV revenues will be supported by what OPera estimates as a 3.3% growth in total advertising revenues, buoyed by healthy consumer spending and company profits, which are currently at record highs. This bodes particularly well for television revenue with its comparatively high entry price.

Broadly, TV revenues are under pressure from the growth in competitive media and the switch from analogue to digital, prompting greater channel competition and cheaper airtime.

However, OPera believes the more established digital stations have used up much of their initial spare capacity, which means there will be heightened price pressure on popular elements of the digital inventory.

Commercial audience supply is set to rise by 2.5% in 2007, boosted by 14% growth in multichannel stations, against declines at ITV Sales and GMTV.

Despite the prospect of improved revenues next year, television will continue to lose share of total advertising spend in 2007, alongside press and radio, as a result of online growth. Television will capture 23.25% of total ad spend in 2007, down from its 2006 share of 23.92%; the press's share will fall to 38.49% from 39.94%; and radio's share to 2.85% from 2.94%.

Meanwhile, OPera is predicting that the online sector will expand by 25% this year, with its market share jumping to 15.03% from 12.33% last year.

The UK online marketplace is set to swell to £2.5bn in 2007, fuelled primarily by growth in search, which last year accounted for 57.8% of the market, compared with 22.5% for display and 19.7% for classifieds, according to the Internet Advertising Bureau.