Newspapers and magazines forecast to see less than tenth of UK ad spend in 2019

Advertising spend on newspapers and magazines is set to account for less than 10 per cent of the UK market this year, according to forecast figures.

In a report by ad agency Group M, published today, it is predicted that all newsbrands (national and regional) and magazines (consumer and B2B) will take home a combined 9.3 per cent share of all UK ad money in 2019.

Last year the ad market share for newspapers and magazines was 10.3 per cent and in 2015 it was 17 per cent, according to Group M. This decline is forecast to continue into 2020 while overall spending grows.

The report said: “Print is still set to decline in the near-term, with spending forecast to fall by mid-single-digit levels in 2019 and 2020.

“However, this is a noted improvement from the double-digit declines recorded only a few years ago.

“Digital extensions offered by newspaper and magazine publishers help to ensure that trends will not worsen by much from current levels.”

There is a very different outlook for ad spend for digital “pure-players” such as Facebook and Google.

The forecast estimated that digital advertising will make up more than 60 per cent of all UK ad spend this year at £13.5bn, with Facebook and Google expected to take around three-quarters of this figure on a gross basis.

Digital “pure players” are the largest group of ad sellers, the report said. It also warned that Brexit could see growth in ad spend slow down.

“Planning for Brexit contingencies is occupying management bandwidth, which is affecting ad-budget setting, and could potentially lead to reductions,” it explained.

Year-on-year growth of 6.1 per cent in the overall UK ad market is forecast for this year. Last year the market was up by 7.8 per cent year-on-year.

But overall UK ad spend will still reach £21.8bn by the end of 2019, the forecast predicts, rising to a predicted £22.8bn by 2020.

Spending on TV and radio advertising is estimated to stay fairly level over the next few years.

Read the Group M report.

Picture: Reuters/Luke MacGregor