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Global newsbrand ad spend down to $32.3bn this year as advertisers increasingly favour user generated content

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WARC
  • Globally, 51% of ad spend goes to professionally-produced content, down from 72% in 2019
  • On average, 3.7% of total UK TV ad spend is allocated to news programming
  • Tech, healthcare and direct-to-consumer drive news media spend in the US
  • India defies global trends with 6% YoY growth in newsbrand ad spend

WARC Global Advertising Trends: Advertising’s breaking news problem

15 April 2025 – The advertising industry has a breaking news problem. Today’s abundance of hard news stories – from trade wars to armed conflicts – draw audiences but not ad dollars to content publishers and broadcasters.

Globally, newsbrand ad spend is forecast to fall to $32.3bn this year, a 33.1% decrease from 2019, per WARC Media, and is forecast to remain flat through 2026. For magazine brands, spend is forecast at $3.7bn in 2025, a 38.6% slump since 2019.

Alongside content and safety concerns, brands are favouring global digital platforms like Google and Meta for targeted, scalable ads. Future growth hinges on first-party data, trusted environments, and revenue diversification beyond ads – such as subscriptions and direct consumer relationships.

WARC’s latest Global Ad Trends report examines the shift in advertising spend from professionally-produced content to user generated content (UGC) and ‘creator-journalists’ willing to operate within digital platform ecosystems. It explores how news publishers are tackling the decline in ad spend and how they plan to better demonstrate the role of professional journalism on advertising effectiveness.

Alex Brownsell, Head of Content, WARC Media, says: “Brands have become increasingly squeamish about hard news content. Keyword blocking hinders the ability of publishers to monetise newsworthy moments, while ad investment is increasingly shifting from professional journalism to ‘creator-journalists’.

“In this Global Ad Trends report we look at where the news media ad dollars are being allocated and what newsbrands are doing to combat these losses and win back advertisers.”

News media struggles as brands favour softer content

Ad spend on news content is falling across the board. Despite high audience interest, serious news stories are frequently demonetised due to keyword blocklists deployed by brands concerned by reputational risk. As brands avoid placing ads alongside content deemed controversial or distressing, they are favouring softer content like sport and lifestyle over “hard” news.

Only 3.7% (£177m) of total UK TV ad spend was allocated to news programming in 2024, per Nielsen. In the US, pharma brands have become increasingly integral for news broadcasters, accounting for 12% of national TV ad sales.

This evokes longstanding questions about the value of news as a content category, and whether brands should focus agnostically on targeting audiences.

User generated content set to overtake professional media in ad spend by 2026

The difficulties facing news media come at a time when advertisers increasingly favour user generated content (UGC) from influencers and creators, which offer low production costs, direct audience engagement, and alignment with platform algorithms.

Traditional media, which invests upfront in journalism and operates under stricter content standards and to tighter regulations, has struggled to compete. This shift is particularly damaging to the ad-funded news industry, which has long warned that shrinking investment in professional journalism risks a decline in civic literacy, and weaker defences against disinformation.

By next year, professionally produced content is forecast to account for less than half of content-driven ad spend, according to GroupM. Platforms like TikTok and podcasts are fuelling the rise of creator-journalists, as is the rise of AI-generated content which also accelerates this trend.

Kate Scott-Dawkins, Global President, Business Intelligence, GroupM, says: “As spend from the long tail of advertisers continues to outpace growth from the top 200, UGC is likely to dominate even more.”

Tech, healthcare and DTC brands drive digital spend shift in the US whilst India defies global trends as print media remains strong

Traditionally, the biggest business sectors advertising in US news media included automotive, retail, finance, and telecoms. With a broad reach and significant budgets, they relied heavily on print and local news to promote products and services at scale.

Over time, however, this mix has shifted. Automotive and retail spend moved toward digital and performance-based marketing. As news publishers adapt, they are increasingly targeting tech, healthcare and direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands and niche B2B advertisers seeking trusted environments.

Smartphones, social media, and personalised content have made digital news more convenient and appealing, especially for younger audiences.

Over the past decade, online news consumption has surged in the UK and US, widening the gap with offline formats. This year online consumption is forecast to command nearly half an hour more usage than offline in the UK, while the gap is estimated at 16 minutes in the US.

According to pollster Gallup, news media now ranks among the least trusted institutions in the US, with only 34% expressing confidence.

India’s news sector continues to buck the global trend, with print media maintaining a dominant position despite widespread digital disruption elsewhere. It has established itself as the largest market for print media globally – despite urban audiences increasingly shifting towards digital platforms – with year-on-year growth of 6% in newsbrand ad spend.

Newsbrands invest in tech, AI, and embrace multiplatform strategies to win back advertisers

Newsbrands have responded to the changing market by investing in technology, developing plans for AI, and building out multiplatform strategies to offer brands and agencies a cohesive proposition.

To further allay advertiser concerns around brand safety, publishers like Reach and News UK have developed in-house tech solutions to avoid inappropriate blocking. CNN has developed a neuro-linguistic AI tool that analyses context across text, audio, video, and galleries to assess brand suitability.

Media agencies are also evolving their approach. Some have introduced new measures like “quality CPM” (qCPM) in an effort to better reflect the effectiveness of campaigns placed against professionally-produced journalism.

A recent Future of News survey of EMEA executives by agency group Stagwell, found that 85% believe advertising on news media is a good investment.

Trusted news content is also a key factor in ad effectiveness, according to 2023 research by Newsworks and Peter Field: campaigns placed in trusted news environments saw significantly stronger business outcomes, including an 88% uplift in profit growth between 2018 and 2022.

Read a complimentary sample report of WARC’s Global Ad Trends – Advertising’s breaking news problem. WARC Media subscribers can read the report in full. A WARC podcast discussing the findings outlined in the report will be available from early May.

Global Ad Trends, part of WARC Media, is a quarterly report which draws on WARC’s dataset of advertising and media intelligence to take a holistic view on current industry developments.

Energy

Venezuela Energy Week Confirms 19 August Date for Houston Industry Showcase

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Officially supported by Venezuela’s Ministry of Hydrocarbons and national oil company PDVSA, the Houston Industry Showcase will take place on 19 August, convening U.S. energy leaders ahead of Venezuela Energy Week 2027 in Caracas

HOUSTON, United States of America, August 10, 2026/APO Group/ –The organizers of Venezuela Energy Week (VEW) have confirmed that the Houston Industry Showcase will take place on 19 August 2026 at The Post Oak Hotel. Officially supported by Venezuela’s Ministry of Hydrocarbons and national oil company PDVSA, the event will bring together U.S. energy companies, investors and policymakers to explore commercial opportunities ahead of Venezuela Energy Week 2027 in Caracas in February.

The showcase will feature Minister of Hydrocarbons Paula Henao as a keynote speaker, providing an update on Venezuela’s energy priorities, investment agenda and opportunities for international partnership. Her participation underscores the country’s commitment to strengthening engagement with global industry as it seeks to expand production and unlock new upstream investment.

Bringing together exploration and production companies, independent operators, oilfield service providers, engineering firms, technology companies and financial institutions, the Houston Industry Showcase will examine opportunities across exploration, production optimization, infrastructure rehabilitation and field development.

As Venezuela works to increase oil and gas production, demand is expected to grow for the technical expertise of U.S. service providers in drilling, well intervention, completion services, production optimization, artificial lift, digital oilfield technologies and infrastructure rehabilitation. Houston-based industry leaders – including SLB, Halliburton, Baker Hughes, Weatherford and a broad network of EPC contractors, equipment manufacturers and specialized service companies – are well positioned to support the modernization of mature fields, improve operational efficiency and deliver the technologies and services needed for future upstream projects.

The Houston event follows a successful Industry Showcase in London, which brought together international investors, operators and energy service companies to explore Venezuela’s evolving investment landscape. Building on that momentum, the Houston edition will deepen engagement with the U.S. energy industry and strengthen commercial dialogue ahead of Venezuela Energy Week 2027.

Venezuela Energy Week – the country’s largest energy investment platform to date – has been confirmed for 22–25 February 2027 in Caracas. Organized by Energy Capital & Power, the event will bring together government leaders, investors and industry stakeholders from across the global energy value chain.

To register for the Houston Industry Showcase on August 19, visit https://apo-opa.co/4g0TncR. To learn more about delegate, sponsorship and partnership opportunities for the showcase or to secure your place at Venezuela Energy Week 2027 in Caracas, contact info@venezuelaenergyweek.com.

Supporting Venezuela’s Earthquake Recovery
Our thoughts are with the people and communities affected by the recent earthquakes in Venezuela. As the country begins the long process of recovery, we encourage members of the global energy community to support relief and reconstruction efforts through the CAF Recovery and Reconstruction Fund for Venezuela, which channels contributions from individuals, companies and organizations to emergency assistance, essential services and long-term rebuilding efforts.

To learn more or make a contribution, please visit the CAF Recovery and Reconstruction Fund for Venezuela (https://apo-opa.co/4hkvteE).

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Energy Capital & Power.

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Islamic Development Bank Institute (IsDBI) Secures New Patent for Smart Stabilization System from Intellectual Property Office of Singapore

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The Smart Stabilization System is a pioneering digital market infrastructure designed to stabilize asset markets by intelligently managing supply-demand gaps and mitigating excessive volatility

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia, August 10, 2026/APO Group/ –The Islamic Development Bank Institute (IsDBI) (https://IsDBInstitute.org) is pleased to announce that the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) has granted a new patent for its innovative Smart Stabilization System.

 

The patent was granted on 10 July 2026 under Singapore Patent No. 10202250873B for the invention titled “A Computer Network Stabilization System and Method.” The patent application was filed on 1 September 2022 and was formally granted following a comprehensive review process.

This achievement reflects our commitment to translating pioneering research into practical solutions that contribute to economic resilience and sustainable development

The Smart Stabilization System is a pioneering digital market infrastructure designed to stabilize asset markets by intelligently managing supply-demand gaps and mitigating excessive volatility. Leveraging sophisticated algorithms and advanced simulation models, the system is designed to anticipate supply and demand imbalances and implement programmable stabilization measures before they escalate into market disruptions.

Unlike traditional stabilization mechanisms that rely on capital reserves, buffer funds, or external interventions, the Smart Stabilization System introduces a next-generation framework for achieving autonomous market stabilization through proactive and programmed stabilization mechanisms. By incorporating distributed ledger technology and cryptographic trust mechanisms, the platform enhances transparency, trust, and operational resilience for digital asset and commodity markets.

The successful patent grant reflects IsDBI’s growing contribution to technological innovation and its commitment to developing knowledge-based solutions that address contemporary economic and development challenges.

Since filing the patent application back in 2022, the Institute has continued to advance the Smart Stabilization System through ongoing development and testing, aimed to expand its practical applications and support future capitalization opportunities. These advancements have positioned the system as a potentially transformative solution for enhancing stability and resilience in increasingly digital and interconnected economies.

Commenting on this occasion, Dr. Sami Al-Suwailem, Acting Director General of IsDBI, said, “The grant of this patent by the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore further strengthens the Institute’s position as a leader in developing innovative knowledge-based solutions that leverage modern technologies to address complex development challenges. This achievement reflects our commitment to translating pioneering research into practical solutions that contribute to economic resilience and sustainable development.”

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Islamic Development Bank Institute (IsDBI).

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Liberia to Preview Next Oil & Gas Licensing Round Strategy at Houston Investor Day

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The Liberia Petroleum Regulatory Authority will host operators, investors and partners in Houston on August 19 to preview future licensing opportunities and showcase the exploration potential of its offshore basins

HOUSTON, United States of America, August 7, 2026/APO Group/ –The Liberia Petroleum Regulatory Authority (LPRA) will present its strategy for the country’s next offshore licensing round at Liberia Investor Day Houston on August 19, bringing together international exploration companies, investors, service providers and energy leaders to discuss the next phase of Liberia’s upstream development.

Hosted in partnership with Energy Capital & Power, the event will provide a platform for the LPRA, led by Director General Hon. Marilyn T. Logan, to outline Liberia’s regulatory framework, investment priorities and plans to attract new participation across the country’s offshore sector. Discussions will focus on upcoming licensing opportunities, exploration prospects and the subsurface data supporting future investment decisions.

Liberia’s offshore sector is entering a new phase of exploration activity, with renewed international participation and a growing pipeline of opportunities. Following the award and ratification of eight Production Sharing Contracts in 2025, Liberia has re-established itself as a frontier exploration destination, with international operators advancing work programs designed to further evaluate the country’s petroleum potential. TotalEnergies is progressing exploration activities that include offshore geochemical surveys, 3D seismic acquisition and seabed mapping, while Oranto Petroleum has also signed contracts to explore Liberia’s offshore.

At the Liberia Investor Day Houston, the LPRA will provide industry stakeholders with insight into the priorities shaping the next licensing round, including the anticipated process, qualification requirements, available acreage and access to technical data. The engagement will give prospective investors a clearer view of Liberia’s exploration landscape and the opportunities emerging across its offshore basins.

The event will also facilitate direct dialogue between LPRA and the global upstream community, connecting companies with policymakers and industry stakeholders involved in shaping Liberia’s next chapter of petroleum development.

As exploration companies continue to seek new frontier opportunities, Liberia Investor Day Houston will highlight the role of regulatory certainty, data availability and strategic partnerships in unlocking long-term investment across Liberia’s offshore sector.

Registration is now open for attendees. Companies interested in Liberia’s emerging offshore opportunities are invited to join LPRA, investors and upstream leaders in Houston for insights into the country’s licensing strategy and exploration outlook. For more information contact info@energycapitalpower.com.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Energy Capital & Power.

 

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