UK adspend rose 9.3% in Q1 2026 driven by double-digit increases in social media, retail media and OOH
UK ad investment rose 9.3% year-on-year to £11.7bn in Q1, according to the latest figures from the Advertising Association (AA) and Warc’s Expenditure Report.
Growth in Q1 was once again led by digital channels, with the main beneficiaries being social media (+17.7%), retail media (+17.9%), and search (+9.8%). In contrast, however, AA/Warc’s “other online display” category (which excludes revenues from online magazine brands, news brands, radio, retail media, social media and TV) fell -10.7% in Q1.
A number of traditional media channels also posted strong growth during the quarter, including OOH (+15%) and its digital subset (+17.6%), direct mail (+7.9%) and radio (+4.2%), the latter of which was driven by strong growth in online adspend (+22.1%).
Other channels showed mixed results. While the overall TV market was flat year-on-year (+0.8%), its growth was largely driven by its addressable segment (+15.5%).
UK advertising expenditure – AA/WARC, Q1 2026
| Medium | Q1 2026 | 2026 forecast | 2027 forecast |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year-on-year % change | Year-on-year % change | Year-on-year % change | |
| Cinema | −17.6% | +2.1% | +4.1% |
| Direct mail | +7.9% | +2.9% | 0.0% |
| Online classified | +0.5% | −0.9% | −0.3% |
| Other online display* | −10.7% | −19.7% | −35.0% |
| Out of home | +15.0% | +7.6% | +2.5% |
| of which digital | +17.6% | +9.0% | +3.9% |
| Published media | −5.9% | −3.0% | −0.3% |
| Magazine brands | −5.7% | −3.2% | −0.5% |
| of which online | +2.9% | +0.3% | +1.5% |
| National news brands | −3.7% | −1.7% | −0.5% |
| of which online | −0.8% | +0.8% | +1.7% |
| Regional news brands | −9.7% | −4.8% | +0.4% |
| of which online | −12.1% | −4.4% | +2.6% |
| Radio | +4.2% | +3.3% | +0.6% |
| of which online | +22.1% | +12.6% | +4.5% |
| Retail media | +17.9% | +15.9% | +13.0% |
| Search | +9.8% | +8.5% | +6.2% |
| Social media | +17.7% | +16.5% | +12.8% |
| TV | +0.8% | +3.7% | +3.0% |
| of which addressable | +15.5% | +13.6% | +11.5% |
| All media total | +9.3% | +8.2% | +5.9% |
Source: AA/WARC Expenditure Report, Q1 2026. * Other online display excludes display revenues from magazine brands, news brands, radio, retail media, social media and TV; includes audio, gaming, video outstream, display embedded formats, native advertising and section take-overs. Forecasts are year-on-year % change estimates for full calendar years 2026 and 2027.
Ad expenditure in cinema declined -17.6% year-on-year, though The Media Leader has reported cinema investment has largely been robust through the first half of the year. Digital Cinema Media (DCM), the UK’s largest cinema ad sales house, responsible for around 85% of the cinema ad market, grew revenues 15% in H1 after an especially strong Q2.
Publishing brands almost universally registered declines in ad revenue across both print and digital versions in Q1. National (-3.7%) and regional (-9.7%) news brands continued to see disinvestment, however national news brands’ online versions (-0.8%) declined marginally compared to regional news brands’ (-12.1%).
Meanwhile, magazine brand websites’ modest 2.9% growth in ad revenue was not enough to offset overall declines in the category (-5.7%).
The figures come the same week as the latest Digital Publishers’ Revenue Index (DPRI) report, published by the Association of Online Publishers (AOP) and Deloitte, likewise found that digital publishing revenue fell 4.6% in Q1 this year, in what AOP managing director Richard Reeves called “the first tremors in an earthquake” caused by AI-driven zero-click searches.
Chris Keenan, head of agency development at marketing platform StackAdapt, told The Media Leader the latest figures reflect how advertisers “are doubling down on channels that no longer force a choice between brand and performance.”
That includes the digital options within more traditional media channels, which have become “key priorities” for advertisers. Keenan pointed to digital OOH, for example, as benefitting strongly from its “broad reach with both the audience and environment targeting, flexibility, and measurement needed to justify every pound spent.”
AA CEO Stephen Woodford expressed cheer over the Q1 figures, which notably cover the period before the UK’s leadership turnover and the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which Warc has separately warned threatens $94bn of global ad investment over next 18 months.
“The first quarter of 2026 demonstrated the continuing resilience and rapid evolution of the UK advertising industry,” Woodford said. “It’s clear that advertisers, large and small, are finding value across our entire advertising ecosystem, relying on advertiisng and marketing services to help them innovate, compete, grow and create jobs.”
The quarterly Expenditure Report now forecasts an increase in adspend this year of 8.2% to surpass £50bn. It is also forecasting a growth slowdown in 2027, expecting 5.9% total ad revenue growth next year to £53.5bn.