UK ad spend rises 9.3% to £11.7bn in first quarter as cinema and regional news fall

Advertising investment in the UK reached £11.7bn in the first quarter of 2026, up 9.3% on a year earlier, according to the latest Advertising Association/WARC Expenditure Report, with retail media, social media and online radio among the fastest-growing channels.

The figures put the market on track for another record year, with total spend in 2026 forecast to rise 8.2% to £50.5bn.

Stephen Woodford, chief executive of the Advertising Association, said: “Q1 demonstrated the continuing resilience and rapid evolution of the UK advertising industry.”

Growth channels

Online radio grew fastest in the quarter, with investment up 22.1%.

Retail media rose 17.9%, just ahead of social media at 17.7%, while digital out-of-home grew 17.6%. Search was up 9.8% and is forecast to grow 8.5% across 2026 and a further 6.2% next year.

Out-of-home advertising overall rose 15% in Q1. TV returned to growth with a 0.8% rise, while addressable TV increased 15.5%, reflecting advertisers’ continuing move towards more targeted viewing.

The report expects retail media to stay among the fastest-growing areas, rising 15.9% this year and 13% in 2027, while social media is predicted to grow 16.5% in 2026 and 12.8% next year.

Radio advertising was up 4.2% in Q1 and is expected to end 2026 up 3.3%. Direct mail rose 7.9% in Q1 and is forecast to grow 2.9% over the year.

Where spend fell

Some media went backwards. Cinema saw the biggest fall, with investment down 17.6% year on year.

Online regional news brands had a difficult first quarter, with ad investment down 12.1%, while regional news brands overall fell 9.7%.

Published media as a whole dropped 5.9% in the quarter, with magazine brands 5.7% lower and national news brands down 3.7%. The report does, however, forecast a small recovery for regional news brands in 2027, with overall investment up 0.4% and online regional news up 2.6%.

The “other online display” category also remained weak, falling 10.7% in the quarter. A 19.7% decline is forecast for 2026 as a whole, followed by a 35% fall in 2027. The category covers advertising around audio, gaming and video outstream, as well as embedded display formats, native advertising and section takeovers.

The previous report was the first since the Advertising Association and WARC revised their methodology, introducing updated channel definitions and separate categories for addressable TV, social media and online radio.