VOD boosts UK TV revenues

TV advertising spend in the UK reached a new high of £5.3 billion (US$6.8 billion) in the UK last year, bolstered by a 12.6% growth in video-on-demand revenue.

This is according to figures released by advertising trade body the Advertising Association/WARC, which said that TV’s share of overall ad spend in the UK has held steady at 25% over the last decade.

The Expenditure Report said that total UK advertising spend grew 3.7% to reach £21.4 billion (US$27.5 billion) in 2016, the seventh consecutive year of market growth.

In Q4, total UK ad spend reached £5.8 billion, a rise of 3.9% year-on-year and the highest grossing quarter on record, according to the study.

Digital formats continued to drive growth last year, with internet ad spend up by 13.4% to £10.3 billion. Mobile spend reached £3.9 billion.

“In real terms, after accounting for inflation, UK ad spend topped its pre-recession peak for the first time during both the final quarter and for 2016 as a whole,” according to the report. “Forecasts for the next two years indicate continued growth of 2.5% in 2017 and 3.3% in 2018.”