WPP Media Global Advertising Forecast: Global ad revenue set to reach $1.14 trillion

Emerging from a year of contrasting economic narratives, WPP Media’s This Year Next Year (TYNY) Global End-of-Year advertising forecast paints a clear picture of a global advertising market defying initial concerns, showcasing remarkable resilience and an upwardly revised outlook for 2026. This is largely attributed to trade tariff outcomes proving more favorable than expected and the AI investment boom. The report underscores the advertising industry's resilience amidst economic and technological shifts, projecting robust growth.

Global advertising momentum 

The updated forecast projects global advertising revenue will grow 8.8% (excluding U.S. political advertising) in 2025, reaching $1.14 trillion. This momentum is set to continue into 2026, with an anticipated 7.1% growth (excluding U.S. political advertising). Over a five-year period, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.3% is expected, reflecting sustained expansion. 

Forces of creative destruction 

The report highlights a period of significant transformation within the industry, characterized by Joseph Schumpeter’s "creative destruction." Streaming video continues to gain ground on linear television, retail media captures budget from traditional digital channels, and AI-powered answer engines are beginning to reshape search behavior. Concurrently, creator-driven content consistently displaces professionally produced media, forcing a re-evaluation of established models. 

AI stands as a primary catalyst for this disruption, influencing content creation, media planning, measurement, and consumer interaction. The advertising industry, with its prior integration of machine learning, is well-positioned to adapt to these changes. 

The report builds on the introduction of "Intelligence" as a new category for what was previously "search” and introduces new forecast categories. These include gaming, financial services media networks, and travel media networks, acknowledging the broadening landscape of advertising sellers and platforms. This reflects a continuous adaptation to an industry where a diverse range of global companies now engage in advertising sales. 

Key channel dynamics 

Notably, commerce is projected to reach $178.2 billion in global ad revenue in 2025, surpassing total TV ad revenue for the first time. Within the commerce channel, we are likely to see pressure to consolidate and strengthen proof of value as AI-interfaces may cannibalize retail media revenue.

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Content-driven advertising remains the largest category, at $663.5 billion and 58.0% share of global revenue. Gaming represents the fastest-growing content advertising channel, expanding 29.5% to $8.5 billion in 2025, though absolute revenue remains just 0.7% of total ad revenue in 2025. 

Newspaper advertising shows near-term stabilization at $31.4 billion in 2025 before a projected decline. Digital out-of-home (DOOH) is forecast to represent 43.9% of total OOH revenue by 2030, reaching $31.4 billion, effectively reaching parity with traditional formats. 

Top 15 markets 

For the first time, we have evaluated the top 15 markets globally, an expansion from the previous coverage of 10. 

Remember these charts are interactive. Click or hover to see more details. 

Future of Advertising Intelligence Framework 

This year, we are introducing the Future of Advertising Intelligence Framework. This framework will assess the capabilities required for companies to succeed, scoring them on their data assets, AI & tech capabilities, distribution, commerce integration, and content & media assets, positing that the future of advertising will be Personalized, Pervasive, and Proactive. We will be releasing the full framework, definitions and scoring rubric in January 2026 at CES.