Resumption of sports events and digital ad formats to save ad market

Last Updated: 26 may 2025

The COVID-19 pandemic will continue to negatively affect the advertising and media industries throughout 2020 due to changes in consumption habits and marketing budgets, but the ad market is expected to recover in 2021, MAGNA’s latest advertising forecast predicts.

Total media owner advertising revenues will decrease by -7.2%, or $42 billion (from $582 billion to $540 billion), in 2020 before recovering +6.1% in 2021. The decline of linear ad sales (linear TV, print, linear radio, OOH, cinema), -16% to $238 billion, will be mitigated by the stability of digital formats: +1% to $302 billion.

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In 2021, the global economic recovery and resumption of major sports events will fuel a recovery in marketing budgets and advertising spending. However, beyond the short-term V-shaped recession/recovery, the COVID crisis will have the long-term negative impact on the advertising market.
MAGNA anticipates ad spend on digital formats to stabilize in the summer and recover in the second half, generating stability or modest growth on a full year basis. Search will remain the largest digital advertising format ($142 billion). Social media and digital ad formats will grow by +8%.