Credit: Malpolez 21
Both of Spain’s largest broadcasters, Mediaset España and Atresmedia, have reported falling total revenues for 2022, as growth in digital advertising hasn’t been enough to counter a contraction of Spain’s linear TV advertising market.
Mediaset España reported total net revenues for 2022 of €865.3 million, a drop of 1.3 percent year-on-year. Meanwhile Atresmedia’s total net revenues reached €950.8 million, a drop of 1.3 percent.
The falls in revenue came amid a wider drop in Spain’s linear TV ad market. Both broadcasters cited external data pointing to a roughly five percent contraction in total TV revenues in Spain in 2022. The bulk of the damage was done in Q2 and Q3, where TV advertising revenues in the country were down by around ten percent, while remaining largely flat in Q1 and Q4. It’s important to take into account the less favourable comparison with the summer with 2021, given that the men’s European championships brought in high ad revenues over that period. But 2022’s FIFA World Cup would have been expected to have a similar impact in Q4 – but Spain’s TV ad market still failed to grow year-on-year during the quarter.
This decline in ad revenues appears to be specific to TV. Data from Infoadex cited by Artresmedia shows that radio, digital, outdoor, press, magazine, and cinema all saw revenue growth in Spain last year, with TV the only channel whose revenues fell.
A large part of the problem appears to be a pullback from brand segments which traditionally invest heavily in TV. Mediaset España’s sector-specific data showed that spend from auto brands was down 31.3 percent, while telco spend was down 27 percent, and food spend fell by 11.5 percent.
Digital can’t close the gap
Both broadcasters are looking to grow revenues outside of TV advertising, but neither was able to grow these revenues quickly enough to make up the shortfall.
Mediaset España’s digital ad revenues, which includes HbbTV-powered addressable ads and ad revenues from streaming services, have more than doubled since 2019, reaching €90.6 million last year. Atresmedia meanwhile grew its own digital revenues by 12.2 percent year-on-year, reaching €75 million. But these are still very small revenue streams compared to traditional TV advertising (which brought in €699 million for Atresmedia last year.
