German TV advertising slows but streaming advertising grows

German TV advertising will grow by only around 1% this year, while the overall German audio and audiovisual ad market is expected to grow by 4.2%, driven by streaming, according to figures from German media association Vaunet.

According to the association, ad market revenue in audio and audiovisual media will grow by 4.2% to €6.54 billion this year, up from €6.26 billion in 2021.

Vaunet predicts that the TV ad market will grow by only 1% to €4.38 billion, while the radio sector looks set to flatline at around €707 million.

Vaunet expects TV and video ad revenues to rise by 4.6% this year to €5.74 billion, with audiovisual streaming ad revenues set to rise by 18% to €1.35 billion.

Despite the recovery of the industry as a whole, turnover in TV advertising will still remain slightly below 2019, with advertising revenue in radio significantly below this benchmark, the organisation said.

Growth comes primarily from the streaming sector, which is expected to record double-digit growth in revenues.

The softening of the TV ad market comes after strong growth last year, when the sector saw revenues jump by 8.2%. Streaming ad revenues in 2021 grew by 29.2% overall and by 29.8% for video.

The jump in streaming revenues last year meant that audiovisual media ad revenues performed better than in the pre-pandemic period, rising to €6.28 billion.

Claus Grewenig, chairman of the management board at Vaunet, said: “Despite all the imponderables, we’re generally optimistic about the current development of the advertising market. Commercial broadcasters make a considerable contribution to safeguarding democracy and diversity, and are largely refinanced by advertising. Refinancing freedom – i.e. the rejection of further restrictions on advertising – is thus vital if the pluralism of commercial media in Germany is to be safeguarded.”