Total ad spending in Spanish-language media for the first half of 2007 reached $2.87 billion, up 2.3% over the same period last year, according to Nielsen Monitor-Plus.

Spending increased in all Spanish-language media types tracked by Nielsen, except local newspapers.

"The past couple of years have seen increased growth in ad spend for Spanish-Language media, with automotive ranking as the top product category, and Univision Communications as the top advertiser, for this time period," said Brian Lane, senior vice president at Nielsen, in a statement.

The Nielsen numbers indicate a rise over the $3.8 billion in Hispanic ad spending for all of 2006 reported by Hispantelligence, TNS Media Intelligence and Advertising Age. That study covered Internet spending as well, which it showed at $132 million for the full year.

However, eMarketer senior analyst Debra Aho Williamson said that neither of the studies told the whole story of ads targeting Hispanic-Americans.

"With the growing number of companies using English-language advertising to reach Hispanic consumers, measuring such spending should be a priority," Ms. Williamson said. "But for now, most measurement firms only provide estimates of Spanish-language ad spending."

Learn how to reach the multifaceted Hispanic market. Read eMarketer's Hispanic Americans Online: A Fragmented Population report.