The media market in Romania recorded a 2.7% decline in 2020, to EUR 467 million, but could recover by 4% this year, when it’s expected to reach EUR 485 mln, according to the Media Fact Book report compiled by local media agency Initiative.

Digital and TV are the segments expected to drive the recovery this year. The 2020 evolution was largely influenced by the pandemic.

Many brands limited their communication and cut their advertising budgets in April and May 2020, amid the lockdown.

This TV segment, which is the biggest in terms of advertising spending, recorded a 35% decline in revenues in April-May, followed by a strong recovery in the second half of the year, when local TV stations sold all of their advertising slots, an unprecedented situation, according to the report.

Thus, the TV segment closed the year with similar revenues as in 2019 – EUR 308 mln.

This year, the budgets in this segment are expected to increase by 2%, to EUR 314.5 mln. The digital advertising segment continued to grow in 2020, despite the pandemic, reaching EUR 117.8 mln, up by 6.2% compared to 2019.

“This value includes only the investments of large companies in advertising, excluding smaller actors or those who allocate budgets exclusively in digital,” the report mentions. Meanwhile, the radio and outdoor segments saw drops of about 20% in revenues.

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andrei@romania-insider.com