Citigroup is lopping as much as $120 million off its advertising budget, for now. The dramatic cuts in media spending include cable TV, magazines and the internet.

In some cases, cable deals were axed in the middle of upfront negotiations and publishers were told to cancel ads that were already scheduled to run, according to AdAge (via MediaBuyerPlanner). In the second half of 2005, Citigroup spent $120 million in cable, online and magazines.

Citigroup's largest individual shareholder has called for cost-cutting, but CEO Chuck Prince has been vocal about resisting the tactic, telling the Wall Street Journal that he refused to "starve the business" in order to give stock prices a boost, according to the article. Last year, Citigroup spent more than half of its roughly $1 billion budget on measured media on the Citi brand.

The cuts aren't expected to be for the long term. Mediaedge:cia and Starlink handle media planning and buying.