CEE media market 2025 – print

Print continued to face structural pressure across CEE in 2025, as audiences and advertising budgets increasingly shifted towards digital channels. The local market reports point to a clear long-term transition, although the pace varied considerably between countries.

Slovenia recorded one of the sharpest declines, with print advertising falling by around 15% year-on-year. In Albania, the shift was even more structural: most newspapers and magazines were now published only online, with only a limited number retaining a printed edition. Montenegro and Serbia also reported continued declines in print, with Serbia specifically identifying print among the channels losing investment while online and OOH grew. The picture was more mixed in Croatia. Newspaper advertising increased slightly by 2%, while magazine investment declined by 2%. At the same time, readership fragmentation continued, reinforcing the move towards digital-first news consumption and advertisers’ preference for measurable channels. Hungary saw an important structural milestone as OOH overtook press for the first time in five years, moving print to fifth place in the media ranking. Meanwhile, Bulgaria also reported continued pressure on print as news consumption migrated online. Publishing ownership remained a notable theme in Czechia, where energy entrepreneur Pavel Tykač agreed to acquire a 50% stake in Mafra, publisher of Mladá fronta Dnes and iDNES. Overall, 2025 confirmed print’s declining role in the CEE media mix, while individual markets continued to show different levels of resilience and adaptation.