Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP) CEO Matt Miller was quoted in a media report saying that the data should help companies making TV commercials, which are mostly small or privately held, gauge their size against the overall industry and rival companies.

The industry also hopes that a recognition of the scale of TV commercial production could influence the debate so-called "runaway" production, when filming is conducted outside the US to cut costs.

The $3.5-billion estimate was calculated from a period starting on 1 July 2002 and ending on 30 June 2003. Of the total, roughly $2.7 billion, or 77 per cent, was spent in the Us and $768 million went abroad, the study said.

Roughly 78 per cent of the commercial shooting days took place in the US, with 22 per cent in international markets. In 2003, 68 per cent of responding companies made commercials in international territories, up from 65 per cent in 2002.

The survey found that Southern California was the most common location for commercial production with New York being the second-most-favored. More than 80 per cent of all commercial shooting took place in major production centers in Southern California, New York, Chicago and Florida, according to the study.