Pharmaceutical companies increased spending on network TV by 12% in 2006 compared to 2005, according to figures from Nielsen Media-Plus.The boost in network TV, to $1.8 billion last year, suggests most drug marketers’ confidence in the medium has not waned, despite reports that some companies such as Johnson & Johnson are shifting a larger portion of ad dollars into so-called non-measured media like paid search. Overall, spending in the major media consumer ad category for 2006 rose 14.9% percent over the previous year, to $5.6 billion.Other TV venues continued to draw bigger shares of pharma media budgets, including cable, up 3% to $1.4 billion; syndicated TV, up 31% to $286 million; and spot TV, up 11% to $173 million. Meanwhile, spending on Internet display ads rose 52% but still only accounted for $82 million.Rivaling the TV spend was investment in print, which increased 31% to $1.7 billion last year.As previously reported, the data also revealed: *Pfizer increased its major media consumer ad spending budget by $158 million in 2006, a jump of 32%. *Merck upped its 2006 major media consumer ad budget by $118 million, a 40% increase. *Sepracor’s major media consumer ad budgets grew by $95 million, also a 40% increase.