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Forecast: German media revenues to exceed €16bn in 2025

October 22, 2025

According to the annual autumn forecast issued by VAUNET, the German Media Association, revenues from audio and audiovisual media in Germany are expected to exceed €16 billion for the first time in 2025.

The figure includes advertising, subscription and usage fees, and transaction revenues. VAUNET predicts total revenues of €16.2 billion for 2025, an increase of 3.3 per cent on the €15.6 billion recorded in 2024. This growth stems almost entirely from the strong performance of the audio and video streaming sectors, both in advertising and in paid content. At the same time, economic pressures and competitive distortions continue to slow market development and create major uncertainty for the industry.

These findings come from VAUNET’s revenue statistics for 2024 and its 2025 market projections for the audio and audiovisual media market in Germany.

Frank Giersberg, Managing Director of VAUNET, commented: “Demand for audio and audiovisual media content continues to rise in Germany. Yet a closer look at individual segments also shows that the economic climate is leaving its mark on the media sector. Growth is mainly concentrated in paid streaming services and in streaming audio and video advertising. And it is precisely in these growth segments that we are witnessing the worrying and ever-increasing market power of global big-tech corporations.”

Claus Grewenig, Chairman of the Board at VAUNET, added: “Market trends highlight the urgent need to establish a level playing field in competition with big-tech platforms, so that the market’s transformation does not bypass media outlets. A robust and sustainable financial framework, updated platform regulation and broader opportunities for cooperation must all be implemented swiftly. Policymakers and all stakeholders along the value chain are called upon to play their part in strengthening responsible media offerings.”

Cumulative advertising revenue forecast in 2025

According to VAUNET’s autumn forecast, combined advertising revenues from audio and audiovisual media are set to remain broadly stable in 2025 (+0.2 per cent), though individual segments will develop differently. In total, audio and audiovisual advertising in Germany is projected to generate around €6.1 billion (2024: €6 billion).

Advertising revenue of radio and audio streaming in 2025

For 2025 as a whole, VAUNET expects net revenues in the audio advertising segment to climb by 2.5 per cent to approximately €848 million (2024: €828 million). Within this, radio advertising is forecast to edge up 1 per cent to €714 million (2024: €707 million), while audio-streaming advertising is expected to record double-digit growth of 11 per cent to €133 million (2024: €120 million).

Advertising revenue for TV and video streaming in 2025

VAUNET expects audiovisual advertising revenues to decline by 0.1 per cent, with net advertising revenues remaining largely stable at around €5.2 billion (2024: €5.2 billion). Within this segment, television advertising is set to decline by 7 per cent to €3.3 billion (2024: €3.6 billion), while video-streaming advertising is expected to grow by 15 per cent to around €1.9 billion (2024: €1.6 billion), more than offsetting the shortfall.

Revenue from paid audio and audiovisual content and teleshopping in 2025

VAUNET forecasts revenues from paid content to grow by 6.7 per cent to €8 billion in 2025, exceeding the €8 billion threshold for the first time (2024: €7.5 billion). Within this segment, pay-TV is expected to remain stable at around €2.1 billion, while paid VoD is projected to continue its dynamic growth, rising by 9 per cent to approximately €3.7 billion (2024: €3.4 billion). Revenues from paid audio are set to increase by 10 per cent to about €2.2 billion (2024: €2 billion). The teleshopping sector is forecast to hold steady at the previous year’s level of €2.1 billion.

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