Advertising dollars are shifting from radio to the internet, BusinessWeek.com reported.

Universal McCann estimates that radio will pull 6.9 percent of the more than $281 billion advertising dollars expected to be spent this year. Online will pull in about 5.8 percent, less than radio's estimated but according to eMarketer, radio's share is declining while online's share is growing.
 
"The radio industry isn't the only one getting some unwelcome news. Though some of the increase in online ad spending reflects a shift from radio, much of it is coming from print newspapers, which have lost ad dollars as the readership for this medium has declined," says Catherine Holahan of BusinessWeek.com.

Some marketers predict that there is revenue potential in independent internet radio. For more insight on internet radio, read "Indie Net Radio: The Next Ad Frontier."

Last month web traffic soared at Sirius Satellite Radio after the company offered a two-day trail (from Oct. 25 to Oct. 26) to let listeners sample Sirius's programming.

Howard Stern made the jump from terrestrial radio this year to satellite and has helped to augment the popularity of Sirius.