Hungary – media market 2025

Despite near-stagnant economic conditions - GDP growth reached only 0.3% in 2025 - the Hungarian advertising market showed growth above inflation.

According to the Yearly Ad Spend Report (by the Hungarian Advertising Association), the market’s ad spend reached HUF 415.9 billion (€1.1 billion), while total Communications Spend reached HUF 758.7 billion (€2.08 billion), with the sector growing 6.2% overall. The most structurally notable shift was in channel rankings. For the first time in half a decade, out-of-home (OOH) overtook the press, moving to fourth place, while print slipped to fifth. Platform dominance deepened further. Digital spend accounted for 55.6% of Hungary’s online advertising revenue: local platforms accounted for 36% of the overall pie, while international platforms now control roughly two-thirds of Hungary’s online advertising revenue. On the regulatory front, the advertising tax remained at 0% throughout 2025, and although the autumn 2025 tax package announced its reinstatement at 7.5% from 1 July 2026, this came earlier than anyone in the market had expected. That uncertainty hung over planning conversations for most of the second half of the year and into early 2026. (After the April 2026 election, the new government blocked the reinstatement, so the 0% rate remains, but that was not knowable in 2025.) The political media environment was dominated by pre-election dynamics. A major structural disruption arrived in October 2025, when Meta banned all political, electoral, and social advertisements on its EU platforms, which had a huge effect on the digital campaigning landscape ahead of the April 2026 elections. Ownership concentration continued on the pro-government side. Indamedia acquired Blikk, the country’s most-read tabloid, and Radio Free Europe Hungary shut down. As we know, a change of government has since taken place, so 2026 may well bring significant shifts in this area too.