Croatia’s media market continued its strong growth in 2025, expanding by approximately 10% year-on-year and reaching an estimated value of EUR 424 million. Digital media further strengthened its leading position, accounting for 45% of total advertising investment, followed by television with a 35% share. OOH continued to gain importance and reached a 12% share of the market, while radio accounted for 5% and print declined to just 3%, confirming the ongoing structural shift toward digital and performance-driven media channels.
The Croatian economy remained relatively stable throughout the year despite persistent inflationary pressure. Inflation slowed to 3.7%, while average net salaries in the private sector increased by nearly 10%, supporting consumer spending and retail activity. Retailers, telecommunications companies, betting operators, and financial institutions remained among the most active advertising sectors.
Traditional linear television viewing continued to decline in 2025. Average viewing time among commercial audiences decreased by 11% versus the previous year, while consumption of unreferenced content on TV screens — including streaming platforms, IPTV services, and gaming consoles — increased by 14%. This highlights the accelerating migration toward on-demand and connected-TV environments. Nevertheless, television remained highly effective for mass-reach campaigns, particularly around live sports and entertainment programming. Nova TV, RTL, and HTV1 continued to dominate the TV landscape, while retail chains such as Lidl, Plodine, and Kaufland ranked among the largest TV advertisers.
Digital advertising maintained strong momentum, with 6% annual growth, despite increasingly fragmented audiences and growing competition for attention. A major market development was the introduction of Dotmetrics measurement as the new industry standard for Croatian online publishers from January 2025 onward, replacing previous website measurement systems and bringing greater transparency to digital audience reporting. Local news portals continued to dominate online reach, with Index.hr, Jutarnji.hr, 24sata.hr, and Dnevnik.hr remaining the leading digital publishers. Njuskalo.hr further strengthened its role as Croatia’s leading online marketplace platform.
OOH was among the fastest-growing traditional channels, recording 14% growth compared to 2024. Expansion was driven by retail, entertainment, and betting advertisers, while the rapid development of digital out-of-home (DOOH) inventory significantly reshaped the competitive landscape. New market entrants increased overall inventory volumes, although Go2Digital maintained a leading market position nationwide.
Radio remained resilient, growing by 3% year-on-year and maintaining strong regional relevance. Otvoreni Radio, Bravo!, and Radio Dalmacija were the strongest radio stations in 2025, while retail and consumer electronics advertisers drove most category investment growth.
Print media continued its long-term decline in audience consumption, although investment trends remained relatively stable. Newspaper advertising increased slightly (+2%), while magazines declined by 2%. Readership fragmentation intensified further, reinforcing the market’s transition toward digital-first news consumption and advertisers’ preference for measurable media performance.
Another key trend in 2025 was the accelerated adoption of AI-driven tools across both media and advertiser operations. Croatian brands and agencies increasingly implemented AI solutions for content production, campaign optimisation, personalisation, and customer service automation. In sectors such as banking and retail, AI-powered personalisation and digital customer experience became central competitive differentiators, signalling a broader market transformation expected to continue into 2026.
