WPP Media revise their advertising revenue forecasts up for 2026
Advertising revenue is forecasted to increase 9.7% this year after growing by an estimated 8.2% in 2025, according to the latest Ireland This Year Next Year report from WPP Media.
Both figures have been revised upwards since June due to the strength of predicted growth from the main pure-play digital platforms, which represented nearly two-thirds of revenue in 2025, with the largest sellers of advertising (Google, Meta and Amazon) all expected to make double-digit gains.
Television, the second-largest media channel, is expected to be down to -1.9% from 4.8% due to worse than predicted performance on traditional spots, especially in the second half of the Year, although VOD and YouTube Connected TV remain in double-digit growth.
Audio is now expected to be flat in 2025 and grow slightly in 2026, and digital audio's growth remains steady in the low teens to drive the medium's expansion in future years.
Out-of-home (OOH) is now expected to be flat year-on-year as compared to June's forecast of 6% growth, with the market suffering due to no big sport across the summer and efficiencies of digital eating into overall yield.
The 2026 men's FIFA World Cup means 2026 growth is projected at 6%, and there is also hope of a boon from growth and the increased sophistication of retail offerings.
Print performance has been revised down slightly from high-single-digital annual losses to -10%, reflective of deepening long term trends and digital extensions not taking up slack.
"Overall, 2025 was a good year for advertising in Ireland, with both demand and supply keeping good pace with each other across most media, meaning stable pricing and healthy ROI," WPP Media said.
"Our estimation for revenue growth is now 8.2%, an upgrade on our midyear report, albeit with some variation in terms of shares of spend due to a disappointing Autumn for most traditional media and an even stronger performance from the digital engines for growth.
"Our forecast for next year remains broadly consistent in terms of year-on-year development across all media, although the base is obviously lower for the likes of TV, audio and OOH, meaning another accelerated jump ahead for all digital extensions and pureplay platforms.
GroupM rebranded as WPP Media last year.
"From a market perspective, we now predict a strong 9.7% expansion, reflective of a more confident approach amongst clients to the new communications landscape, the summer bump of the FIFA World Cup and the likely arrival of at least one of the big streamers to market."
(Pic: Getty Images)
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