U.S. ad spending in the first quarter reached $34.9 billion, a 5.2% increase over the first quarter of 2005, according to estimates released today by TNS Media Intelligence. The big winner, unsurprisingly, was the Web, which increased its ad take by nearly 20%.

For those preaching the death of television advertising, you might want to wait another year before beating that drum. I note that network TV increased 12.3% to $6.5 billion; spot TV grew 6.4% to $3.9 billion; national syndication grew 6.2% to just over $1 billion; and cable TV grew 2.2% to $3.6 billion.

The big losers? Local newspapers, national radio, and local radio all reported drops in total ad spending.