The Media Fact Book was born in 1997 out of our media market knowledge and our passion for media. It has been published annually ever since. Along the way we have continuously developed and improved upon it.

We pride ourselves on being the only media agency in Romania to publish this information along with our views on the current media market. This says a lot about who we are, what we do and how we do it. Passion, dedication and professionalism (not to mention countless hours of data mining and analysis) is what we put into each edition of our Media Fact Book.

The final result is a publication that is eagerly awaited and has been raising its standards for each of the past 27 years.

Each year the result is a publication eagerly awaited for the high standards in information and analysis, a staple of the Romanian media industry for the last 27 years.

Last year, our Media Fact Book was a source of inspiration for many marketing professionals, both locally and internationally.

This year, our attention is split between two major themes, the cost-of-living crisis in the difficult global economic context, and the rise of Artificial Intelligence as the hottest topic to debate. Both have impact in the media market and both influence decisions brands are forced to make today for successful results tomorrow.

In a dynamic industry where Digital is becoming more important each year and where people live in constant connectivity, we are seeing a consolidation of media consumption trends and signs of a stable evolution of the media market. Precaution, research and constant optimization are the key words for the rest of this year and probably the next one.

LAST YEAR

Our Media Fact Book arrived on the desks of more than 3,500 professionals across numerous industries and geographies. This makes the Media Fact Book not only locally targeted product, but also a reference reading for international professionals.

THIS YEAR

Today’s media market in Romania is defined as a sophisticated mix of traditional and digital platforms that cater to a diverse and tech-savvy audience, reaching a value of 701 million euros in 2023.

With digital media as one of the drivers of growth, representing a third of the entire media market, and TV on an accelerated growth fueled by sports events, we estimate a value of 762 million euros for the local media market at the end of 2024.

EVERY YEAR WE DEVOTE MORE SPECIALISTS, WITH MORE EXPERIENCE, AND SPEND MORE HOURS WRITING AND ANALYZING OUR FACT BOOK. WE DO THIS IN ORDER TO CONTINUOUSLY UPDATE AND CONSOLIDATE MEDIA FACT BOOK, AS THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS OF THE ROMANIAN MEDIA INDUSTRY.

TEAM

Sever Savanciuc

CEO

sever.savanciuc@mullenlowe.ro

Alexandra Olteanu

Managing Director

alexandra.olteanu@initiativemedia.ro

Ruxandra Stefan

Communication Design Director

ruxandra.stefan@initiativemedia.ro

Cosmin Otel

Head of Digital

cosmin.otel@initiativemedia.ro

Ruxandra Stan

Head of Media Partnerships

ruxandra.stan@initiativemedia.ro

Andreea Dinescu

Deputy Managing Director

andreea.dinescu@initiativemedia.ro

CONTACT

Metropolis Bravo 89-97,
Grigore Alexandrescu
010624, Bucharest, Romania

Press Enquires:

Marina Constanda

mconstanda@golin.ro

New Business Enquires:

Alexandra Olteanu

alexandra.olteanu@initiativemedia.ro

Recruitment Enquires:

Oana Olteanu

oana.olteanu@mullenlowe.ro

Select the Media Fact Book edition(s) you wish to access:

MEDIA INSIGHTS 2024

The economic stability and the return of major cyclical events such as elections, Euro Football Championship and Paris Olympic Games will accelerate the 2024 ad spend to (+9% vs. 2023).

DISCOVER

MEDIA MARKET

2023 SUSTAINED A STABLE UPTREND, DESPITE THE DIMINISHED ECONOMIC GROWTH AND GEO-POLITICAL TENSIONS

2023 started on a positive note, as a decreasing energy prices, easing supply constraints and a strong labor market supported a moderate growth in the first quarter of 2023, dispelling fears of a recession.

This better-than-expected start raised growth prospects for the media market to continue its positive evolution, and by the end of the year, it reached an estimated total net of €701 Million +6.5% vs. 2022, a slightly less dynamic evolution compared to 2022, +9% vs. 2021.

Current estimation is that the total media market will reach 762M euro by the end of 2024, with a significant growth for TV (+10%) and OOH (+10%), a moderate increase for Digital (+7%) and Radio (+7%), and downtrend for Print (-10%).

2018-2024 ESTIMATED TOTAL NET AD-SPEND
BY MEDIA (Million Euro)

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 454 2018 480 2019 476 2020 601 2021 657 2022 701 762 2023 2024

MARKET MEDIA MIX TREND
(ESTIMATED NET)

TV Digital OOH Radio Print 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 52% 53% 53% 58% 64% 64% 66% 36% 35% 35% 31% 25% 21% 19% 6% 6% 6% 5% 5% 7% 7% 5% 5% 5% 5% 5% 6% 6%

2023 MEDIA MIX

THE MARKET CONTINUED THE SHIFT FROM TV DOMINANCE TOWARDS AN INCREASING DIGITAL NET INVESTMENTS SHARE

In 2023 the TV channels’ performance was supported by a less abrupt audience erosion, ending in -4% vs. 2022, while 2022 registered -10% vs. 2021, as a result of the strong audience performance achieved in Q4 2023, compensating the weak year start. The estimated net TV market stayed flat at 368M euro, representing 52% of the estimated net media market.

Digital continued its growth (+8% vs. 2022), although with a diminished dynamics compared to 2022 (+25% vs. 2021) as digitalization carried on, being driven by organic factors such as e-commerce and media consumption shifts. Digital reached at the end of 2023 an estimated 252M euro representing 36% of the total media market.

Both OOH (+10%) and Radio (+10%) continued their post-pandemic consolidation process. OOH gathered 41M euro and Radio 35M euro, representing 6% and respectively 5% of the estimated net media market. Print was the only media industry with negative evolution, dropping by 11% vs 2022 at 4.5M euro and gathered less than 1% of the media market share.

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TOP 10 SECTORS

SINCE 2021, RETAIL CONTINUED TO
CONSOLIDATE LEADERSHIP

Top 10 sectors ranking was led by Retail with 25% of total estimated net media market, which continued to grow, followed by Healthcare (17%), with flat evolution vs. 2022 and Food & Beverages (12%) increasing +8% vs. 2022. E-commerce (10%) and Financial Services followed, both on positive trend, with +10% and respectively +6% vs. 2022, and complete top five sectors.

2023 TOP 10 SECTORS (ALL MEDIA)
BY ESTIMATED NET INVESTMENTS (MILLION EURO)

€ 16,2 € 18,1 € 28,2 € 33,8 € 41,3 € 42,8 € 73,1 € 84,9 € 120,5 € 176,0 € - € 20 € 40 € 60 € 80 € 100 € 120 € 140 € 160 € 180 Retail Healthcare Food & Beverages E-commerce Financial Services Cosmetics & Personal care Telecommunications Bets & Gambling Horeca HH Products 2,3% 2,6% 4,0% 4,8% 5,9% 6,1% 10,4% 12,1% 17,2% 25,1%

TV MARKET
TOP INSIGHTS

TV PERFORMANCE MORE STABLE,
EROSION LESS ABRUPT VS. 2022

In 2023, the general TV audience continued its year-on-year downtrend at -4% vs 2022 on 18-54 Urban audience at the end of the year, an improvement compared to 2022, -10% vs. 2021.

Among the top three generalist channels, Pro TV maintained its leadership with 3.7% Rtg and 24% SOA on the urban audience, with an increase (+3% Rtg, +1pp SOA), followed by Antena 1 with a average rating of 2.4% and 15% SOA (-9% Rtg, -1pp SOA). Kanal D is third with 1.4% rating and 8% SOA (-12% Rtg, -1pp SOA). In the second tier of general channels, Prima TV has a constant audience share of 1.3%, followed by TVR 1 with 1.1% SOA and National TV with 1% SOA.

As 2024 started strong, it is already set to surpass last year’s growth, but the European Football Championship and Paris Olympic Games will further boost the market to record levels.

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THE PROJECTION FOR THE TV MARKET EVOLUTION
IS A 10% INCREASE IN NET REVENUES TO 405M EURO

% Total TV rating % Pro TV % Antena 1 % Kanal D 2019 vs 2018 2020 vs 2019 2021 vs 2020 2022 vs 2021 2023 vs 2022 -6% -8% -7% -7% -5% -3% -4% 6% -25% -15% -5% 5% 15% 25% -35% 3% -4% 3% -1% 10% 6% 7% 9% -10% -9% -16% -31%

DIGITAL MARKET
TOP INSIGHTS

DIGITAL MAINTAINED THE USUAL TRENDS IN BUDGET
ALLOCATION ACROSS MAIN PLATFORMS, WITH A TOTAL
MARKET ESTIMATION OF 252M EURO (+8% VS 2022).

Google Search continued to receive the largest share of Digital media budgets in 2023, accounting for approximately 45.8% of the total allocation. Display advertising maintained a substantial portion of the budget, with its share at around 25.9% in 2023 (budgets estimated include both direct and programmatic buying models).

Social media continued to play a significant role in Digital media spending, holding a 22.0% share of the budget in 2023. Despite a slight decrease from previous years, the high users base and advanced targeting options ensured Facebook to remain a vital platform for reaching diverse demographics and generating specific engagement. Businesses valued Facebook for its ability to deliver personalized ads that resonate with users’ interests and behaviors, respectively TikTok for increased reach potential and efficiency in terms of costs.

YouTube, while holding a smaller share of the Digital media budget, underscored its growing importance in 2023. Allocating about 6.2% of the budget to YouTube, businesses recognized the platform’s strength in delivering impactful video content that engages viewers more deeply than traditional display ads.

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Digital PLATFORMS
BUDGETS

€ 140.000 Search Display Social Media Youtube € 80.000 € 120.000 € 60.000 € 100.000 € 40.000 € 20.000 € - Year 2022 (000) Year 2023 (000)

OUT OF HOME MARKET
TOP INSIGHTS

AD REVENUE UPTREND AND LOCAL
VENDORS DEVELOPMENT. DIGITAL OUTDOOR
CONTINUED EXPANSION IN 2023.

In 2023, the OOH market resumed its natural evolution, accommodating both a constant increasing cost inflation and a growing advertising budgets allocation in a competitive quest for reaching broad audience with high geographical flexibility. In this positive context, most providers took the opportunity to develop their networks, firstly by investing in new locations, especially in the DOOH sector, then by finding key areas with high pedestrian traffic to increase their reach and visibility scores and enhance the consumers’ engagement potential.

2023 MARKET SHARES
BY VENDOR

Euromedia & AffichageGeticaDefiPhoenix MediaOthers 42% 20% 10% 14% 14%

New regulations are in force for the Bets & Gambling sector, the most significant one being the limitation of the OOH support size to a maximum of 35 sqm. Besides its basic purpose, this decision provides other brands with the potential of getting a higher visibility and acted also as a price regulator in an environment where advertising costs were perceived as excessively high.

The 2023 estimated market shares for main vendors are relatively unchanged: Euromedia & Affichage Romania are on the first place (20%), followed by Defi Romania (14%) and Phoenix Media (14%) sharing the second place, and Getica (10%) on third, while small providers gather 42%.

THE 2024 OOH NET MARKET IS EXPECTED
TO INCREASE BY 10% AT AN ESTIMATED
TOTAL OF 45.6 M EUR.

RADIO MARKET
TOP INSIGHTS

LINEAR RADIO LISTENING STILL HUGELY DOMINANT,
DESPITE MARGINAL INCREASE ON DIGITAL DEVICES.

Despite the digitalization boost triggered by the pandemic, linear radio listening (radio receiver) continued to show the highest daily reach during weekdays (60.1% vs. 61.5% in 2022) among urban population 11+.

Digital devices, surprisingly, continue to reflect very low figures: Mobile Phone (11.4% vs 11.6% in 2022), PC/Laptop 8.1% vs. 7.7% in 2022 and Tablet (0.6% vs 0.5% in 2022).

In the context of a stable economic and media market evolution, the expectation is that the net Radio market will increase by 7% in 2024 at approx. 37.5M euro.

TOP 10 RADIO STATIONS PERFORMANCE
(URBAN VS. BUCHAREST)

2 0 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 ZU 13,7 9,4 12,2 12,6 Europa FM 10,9 9 Actualități 10,5 11,5 Magic FM 9,6 6,7 Digi FM 4 5,8 Virgin Radio 3,5 3,6 Pro FM 3,7 4 Rock FM 7,5 3,7 Ant. Satelor 1,7 1,6 Kiss FM Urban 11+ y.o. Bucharest 11+ y.o. Daily Reach %

PRINT MARKET
TOP INSIGHTS

25% 17% 11% 10% 6% 31% Ringier RomaniaAdevărul HoldingMediafax GroupBP Publishing MediaTransilvania Grup BusinessOthers

PRINT MARKET DOWNTREND CONTINUED IN 2023

After the massive paper price increase of 2022, which had a direct negative impact on print publications distribution at national level and publishers’ business, the Print market downtrend continued in 2023 to an estimated 5M euro net value, being the only medium not to recover in the more favorable economic context of the last couple of years.

The Print market remained unchanged in terms of estimated net revenues shares, as by Ringier (25%) with its broad publication portfolio (Elle, Viva, Avantaje, TV Mania, TV Satelit, Libertatea, being some of them) continued to be dominant, being followed by Adevarul Holding (17%) with Adevarul, Click, Click pentru femei, Click Pofta Buna, Click Sanatate, OK Magazin and Historia. Mediafax Group (11%) ranked third with a superior performance for its business-oriented publications Ziarul Financiar, Business Magazin and Dupa Afaceri Premium, while BP Publishing (Forbes, Forbes Life) with 10% of total net revenues came on fourth, achieving an excellent performance with its premium niche products.

In 2024, the Print market is expected to continue its negative trend with an estimated decrease of 10% vs 2023, at an estimated 4.5M euro net value.

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