Merrill Lynch, too, has decreased its 2006 U.S. ad spend forecast, a day after Bob Coen lowered his, writes MediaPost. Merrill lowered its forecast to 5.1 percent growth, from its earlier 5.3 percent, citing a slow cable upfront (cable now forecast to grow at 6 percent, rather than 10 percent); but Merrill projects an impressive 29.1 percent growth in internet advertising, and slow growth for newspapers (1.2 percent) and radio (1.9 percent).