Major economic developments
The economic developments with the greatest impact on Romania’s media and advertising market in 2025 were:
- Persistent inflation and rising living costs continued to affect household spending. As consumers became more selective, media subscriptions, entertainment spending, and impulse purchases faced prioritisation.
- Uncertainty around fiscal deficits, taxation, and the broader European economic outlook led many advertisers to adopt more cautious budgeting practices.
- Political advertising and heightened news consumption boosted audience engagement and advertising activity, particularly in television, online news, social media, and digital video.
- Adoption of AI to improve marketing efficiency and productivity.
Together, these forces continued the transformation of the Romanian media market from a traditionally TV-led ecosystem into a more digital, data-driven, and performance-oriented advertising environment.
Political and Regulatory Changes
The most consequential political and regulatory developments for the Romanian media market in 2025 were:
- Following the annulled 2024 presidential election, Romanian authorities introduced stricter rules for digital political communication, gaining stronger powers to request the removal of non-compliant content.
- Romania intensified implementation of the EU’s Digital Services Act.
- The new CNA Audiovisual Content Code provides stricter provisions regarding advertising categories such as gambling and health-related products, as well as audience protection. The use of celebrities and public figures in gambling advertising is forbidden.
Important Changes in the Romanian Media Landscape
Romanian
television remained highly influential. However, TV audiences and advertising inventory continued to decline as viewers spent more time on streaming and social video platforms.
TV advertising audience delivery fell by approximately 4.5% in 2025, reflecting ongoing
audience fragmentation.
Across nearly all platforms, video emerged as the preferred format for both consumers and advertisers.
TikTok reached an estimated 8.7 million adult Romanian users and became a mainstream channel for both audience consumption and advertising investment.
Streaming services such as Netflix, Disney+, and Prime Video continued gaining share of consumer attention.
There were
no major acquisitions or ownership restructurings among Romania’s largest broadcasters.
Media Consumption and Digital Behaviour
While people from
older segments continue to be heavy TV consumers, the
younger segments are undergoing significant changes in media consumption.
- Short-form video became the dominant content format, especially on TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts. For younger audiences, short-form video became the primary way to consume news, entertainment, and product recommendations.
- Consumers divided their time across TV, streaming platforms, YouTube, TikTok, podcasts, gaming, social media, and online news. There is no longer a single dominant media environment capable of delivering mass reach.
- AI entered mainstream digital behaviour and began changing how people search for and consume information.
These shifts moved Romania further toward a
platform-driven, video-first, mobile-first media environment.
Emerging Trends
Several emerging trends moved from experimentation to strategic priorities during 2025.
Retail media was the most important emerging trend of the year. Romanian retailers increasingly began monetising their customer data, websites, apps, loyalty programmes, and in-store digital screens as advertising platforms.
Digital outdoor advertising emerged as one of the fastest-growing segments in the market.
As audiences migrated toward streaming environments, brands increasingly looked for ways to
combine TV-quality storytelling with digital targeting and measurement.
Major Market-Specific Developments
No development had a greater influence on Romania’s media environment than the
political events surrounding the presidential elections and the role of TikTok in public discourse. Romania became
one of Europe’s most closely watched examples of how social platforms can influence public opinion, political mobilisation, and media consumption.
Romania remains one of the more TV-centric advertising markets in Europe. Major broadcasters continue to deliver substantial reach and cultural impact.
