In 2025, the Ukrainian media market moved from post-crisis recovery to a more selective, optimisation-driven phase. The economy remained under pressure from the war, inflation, energy-supply risks, and migration, but business activity was relatively stable. The migration situation stabilised somewhat, yet problem areas remain: the outflow of young people following changes to border-crossing rules for men aged 18–22, and natural population decline, with deaths roughly three times higher than births. Consumers became even more price-sensitive, making promotions, affordability, loyalty, and clear communication of brand value more important.
Total net advertising spend reached €709.6 million, up 12% versus 2024. Online remained the largest channel, with €412.2 million and a 58.1% market share. However, the media mix changed: OOH strengthened its position to €124.2 million and 17.5%, overtaking linear TV, which decreased to €118.1 million and 16.6%. Digital TV grew to €20.2 million and 2.9%, radio held 3.5%, while print remained niche at 1.4%. Digital continues to be the core of the market, but brands are increasingly adding OOH, radio, TV, and OTT/Digital TV to build reach and frequency.
Among categories, the fastest growth came from financial services (+83.8%), automotive (+67.4%), tourism (+57.1%), government (+46.9%), and leisure & entertainment (+43.0%). Retail, food, telecom, and beauty also increased activity. At the same time, financial services are moving beyond traditional banking: monobank expanded into e-commerce with its own monomarket. Pharma, by contrast, reduced investment (-13.6%), partly due to regulatory and pricing pressure. The largest advertiser was Temu (€13.0 million), followed by Rozetka, Kyivstar, Farmak, Fozzy, and L’Oréal.
Media consumption became even more fragmented. Internet penetration among people aged 16–65 reached 92.4%, while 58.6% of the 18–65 audience bought goods or services online in the past six months. Short-form video, YouTube, social media, messengers, and Telegram remain key contact points. Threads showed rapid growth, already surpassing X in penetration and becoming a niche platform for discussions of social topics and for brands using short, sharp communication. Betting companies also account for a noticeable share of Google searches, reflecting the broader popularity of gaming mechanics; brands are actively leveraging excitement and FOMO, as shown by monobank’s “lemon” campaign.
TV remained relevant: viewing in 2025 remained close to 2024 levels, but power outages at the end of the year accelerated the shift of video consumption to OTT, YouTube, and mobile screens. OTT/Digital TV on large Smart TV screens became a more common element of both digital and TV plans.
Despite war-related and economic risks, the Ukrainian media market continues to recover: according to the All-Ukrainian Advertising Coalition, volumes are forecast to grow to around €802.1 million in 2026 (+13% versus 2025). The market remains sensitive to the security, energy, and price context, so communications require flexible scenario planning. For brands, this means combining a performance-driven approach with brand trust building, sufficient reach, and locally relevant messaging.
