The Interactive Advertising Bureau, which helps set uniform standards for online advertising, is adding a new advertising format that will allow consumers to skip video advertisements while watching video content on the web. In doing so, the IAB is offering support for publishers who believe consumers should be able to skip irrelevant ads shown at the beginning of a video. 

According to the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers US, online advertising revenues were up 22% in the third quarter when compared with the same quarter in 2010. These third quarter results mark the eighth consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth, according to Randall Rothenberg, president and CEO of the Interactive Advertising Bureau. “Brand marketers recognize that their messages need to be where their consumers are spending time -- and that is increasingly in digital media,” Rothenberg said of the growth.

eMarketer estimates the US online ad market is to rise sharply this year, with spending set to increase 20.2% to $31.3 billion. Based on an updated industry breakdown, retail and consumer packaged goods (CPG) will account for the largest shares of new spending.

According to the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and Pricewaterhouse Coopers, revenue from online advertising spiked to a new high in of $7.3 billion in the first quarter of 2011. Q1 numbers are up 23% over same period in 2010. However, this figure is a slight drop from the fourth quarter of 2011, which saw $7.45 billion in online ads, AdWeek has reported.