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This document is a product of INITIATIVE

In putting together the Media Fact Book we have used data and information
supplied by: The Romanian Association for Audience Measurement (ARMA),
The Romanian Audit Bureau of Circulation (BRAT), The Romanian Association for Radio
Audience Measurement (ARA), Kantar Media, International Advertising Association
(IAA), Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Business Monitor
International, ANRCTI, The National Institute of Statistics (INSSE), EuroStat, focus-
economics.com, ANCOM, Profit.ro, iSense Solutions, Similar Web, Global Web Index,
Statista, GPeC.

Acknowledgements to the following members of the INITIATIVE team who significantly

contributed to this book:
Alexandra Olteanu, Ruxandra Stefan, Catalin Florea, Ruxandra Stan, Razvan Simionescu,
Corina Burlan, Irina Puscoi, Roxana Cristescu, Denisa Andrei, Catalina Ghita, Alexandru
Miu, Cosmin Otel, Adriana Ciobanu.

Special contributors:
• Oana Osman - Founding Member and Deputy Editor in Chief at Profit.ro
• Silviu Antohe, Valentin Ionescu ‑ Mullen Lowe
• Marina Constanda, Catalina Popescu - Golin
• Nicoleta Grigoriu

© INITIATIVE MEDIA S.A, Bucharest, 2021 All rights reserved

This publication is protected by copyright. No parts of this book may be reproduced

without the prior written consent of the copyright owner.

Readers should understand that the data contained in the Media Fact Book is as actual
and accurate as the sources could provide at the moment the book was written.

Your comments and suggestions are welcome as a valuable input for the future editions
of this book.

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 Content:
Editor’s Foreword.................................................... 07
Romanian Economic Outlook 2020..................... 09
The Consumer..............................................................17
Media Market 2020....................................................21
Television..................................................................... 33
Digital Media...............................................................47
OOH................................................................................... 65
Radio............................................................................... 75
Print................................................................................ 85
CEE Country Pulse.................................................... 93

4 5
 Editor’s
FOREWORD
The media industry is recovering quickly after
a year of COVID suffering. The comeback is so
spectacular that it makes us forget how hard it
was in 2020.
2021 is the first year in which our industry
exceeds 500M euro in size and this upward
trend is a healthy one that we forecast for the
coming years.
It took our industry 13 years to get back to the
point where the 2009 crisis made its mark –
it was a comeback marked by other minor crises
that slowed its pace.
6 7
Everyone is talking about the bad this
pandemic has brought in the industry, but
there are countless good things and above all –
the digital miracle – accelerating the adoption
by both consumers and companies of the
digital environment as a support for shopping /
selling / transactions / services.
This opens countless new categories that
fuel the advertising industry, practically
the pandemic has allowed us to open new
territories that will prove very fertile in the
coming years.
I invite you to read the 24th edition of Media
Fact Book!
We hope you find Media Fact Book insights
useful as you continue to navigate your way
into the evolving next normal – the digital
normal!
 ROMANIAN
ECONOMIC
OUTLOOK

8 9
ROMANIAN
ECONOMIC
OUTLOOK
by Oana Osman - Editor In Chief - Profit.ro
The signs of a rapid
recovery from the
worst economic crisis
The lockdowns enforced by the pandemic left
the global economy with a 10,000B dollar “hole”
that will not be covered anytime soon, even if
the economies’ recovery is faster than expected
throughout this year. Estimates made by the
UN Conference on Trade and Development
(UNCTAD) in a recent report show the massive
scale of the disaster generated around the world,
which has economies struggling to find their
way back to growth.
Fortunately, signs of growth are more and more
obvious. And Romania is, as very few times
before, among the economies with the fastest
recoveries.
Over the past year, in order to contain the
epidemic, most states had imposed restrictions
that blocked entire activity sectors, with chain
effects to other industries, as well. As a result,
the global economy underwent the most severe
annual decline since statistics on aggregate
economic activity were introduced, in the early
1940s. In 2021, we could be witnessing a 4.7%
growth; however, the $10,000B deficit that will
not be recovered even with this advance rate, is
enormous, equalling twice Japan’s GDP.
10
While developed economies have launched
extensive recovery plans, such as the $1.9
trillion US stimulus package, and China’s
confirmed economic bounce-back ever since
late last year, developing countries continue to
bear the heavy burden of the recession, due to
limited fiscal space and constraints related to
payments balance, which have caused some of
the largest decrease rates in individual income
relative to GDP.
The same context led to a 3.9% drop in the
Romania’s economy in 2020, a moderate
decline compared to the rest of the countries,
and the odds are that it will be followed by a
faster recovery than in many other states. In
fact, we are among the few countries which the
European Commission estimates will achieve
a complete economic production recovery as
early as this year.
Following a surprisingly good evolution in
Q4 2020, Romania’s economy continued its
recovery in Q1 2021 with a 2.8% growth in real
terms, compared to the previous quarter, thus
maintaining a decrease of only 0.2% compared
to Q1 2020, when the effects of the pandemic
were not yet acutely felt.
This is the fastest recovery after a severe crisis
and estimates from governments, markets,
analysts and rating agencies for the next period
are better than previously expected.
OPTIMISTIC REVIEWS BUDGET AND PUBLIC DEBT –
Recently, the European Commission has
MASSIVE IMBALANCES
revised its forecast regarding the Romanian
economy’s evolution this year, estimating a The state’s debt increased strongly in 2020,
strong growth. According to the new projection, after the Government borrowed a record
we could be looking at a 5.1% advance this amount to cover the largest budget deficit to
year and a 4.9% advance in 2022. Previously, date, and exceeded the historic threshold of
the Commission’s optimism was much more 500B RON, the equivalent of 47.8% of GDP,
tempered, predicting an increase of only 3.8% in January this year. Also, for the first time
in 2021 and as much as 4% next year. since 2014, last year, the state’s external debt
in foreign currency has exceeded the one in
The International Monetary Fund revealed
an even more optimistic view in April. The
institution updated the growth estimate for
RON. The Government needed to borrow a
large amount of money, but, faced with a great
need for money, in the context of the pandemic
Romania by more than one percentage point, crisis, and limited by the level of the domestic
up to 6% this year, from the 4.6% previously Government securities market, it resorted to
estimated, a level that will only be exceeded by
Spain in the EU.
several exits on the foreign market with bonds
in euro and dollars.
By comparison, the eurozone economy is The budget deficit went up to 9.8% of GDP
expected to grow by 4.4% this year, lower than last year, or 101.9B RON, which is a record,
the 5.2% advance projected in October, as considering that revenues were affected by
estimates for the recovery of the region’s main the economic impact of the pandemic, and
economies have become moderated. While expenditures increased, including for the health
revisions regarding Romania follow an upward sector and for business environment support.
trend, the advance in countries like Germany,
Italy or France are corrected by the IMF
downwards. The recovery will not be uniform,
depending, among other factors, on the pace
of the vaccination programs, the extent of
incentive policies and several structural factors.
Romania has also received somewhat better
estimates in terms of unemployment, as a
rate of 4.9% is expected this year and in 2022,
slightly decreasing from the 5% estimated last
year.
Even the current account deficit is expected to
decrease from 5.1% of GDP to 5% of GDP this
year and to 4.7% of GDP in 2022, but the level
remains alarming and poses additional risks to
the financial stability of the country.
11
The budget deficit projected for 2021 is 7.2%
of GDP, or 80B RON, therefore the public
debt could increase at least by this amount,
from 498.35B RON at the end of 2020. If the
evolution of the economy and the deficit will
not fit the Government’s plans, the target of
80B RON could be exceeded.
The fact that the state has planned very large
loans for this year as well is concerning. This
means that the public debt will approach
600B RON by the end of 2021, and could even
exceed this level if the effects of the pandemic
will interfere with plans regarding tax
collecting and expenditures.
Foreign currency loans are useful in the short
term, as they help the Government finance its
loan needs without putting pressure on the
local market, where it would with companies
and the population for the same resources,
supplementing the NBR’s foreign exchange
reserve. However, on the long run, the
Government will have to pay interest in foreign
currency, and consequently the depreciation
of the local currency increases the cost of debt.
The bigger the extent of the external debt, the
higher the state’s vulnerability to exchange rate
variation.
Although the RON has depreciated against the
euro recently, the Romanian currency is one of
the most stable in the region.
VACCINATION SPEED,
UNCERTAIN IN THE NEXT
PERIOD
Uncertainty regarding the evolution of the
pandemic continues to make all these economic
prospects questionable, especially when it
comes to new potential options and the speed of
vaccination.
The 27 EU members received another bad
news when Johnson & Johnson announced
that the launch of its vaccine in Europe will
be delayed, after the US authorities expressed
concern regarding extremely rare complications
12
generated by blood clots occurrence. This was
one of four vaccines the community block
relied on in order to accelerate its vaccination
campaign in Q2 2021, and it was especially
desired by many governments as it requires a
single inoculation.
This is not the first delay of the vaccines’
distribution across Europe, and the EU has
faced criticism regarding the slow pace of
vaccinations. In addition to problems related to
the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, Europe’s drug
regulator authority has been accused of taking
too long to approve new vaccines.
INFLATION, A MAJOR
CONCERN
Currently limited by economic weakness,
inflation will accelerate globally this year,
also due to higher commodity prices. The
extremely permissive monetary policies so
far, with interest rates at historic low values,
even negative, are approaching the end at a
very rapid pace. Central banks will have to
start withdrawing from the massive amount of
money printed and thrown on the markets to
slow the economic decline, and the prospect
of increasing interest rates is becoming more
and more certain in the United States. The
European Central Bank will also adjust its
highly permissive monetary policy. It recently
announced that the year-end inflation could
reach 2% in the euro area, and it must remain
below this level according to the ECB’s
mandate.
In Romania, the pressure to raise interest rates
is not so high, at least for the moment, given
the fact that NBR did not reduce key interest
rates as much as other central banks, nor has
it made massive asset purchases or other large
quantitative easing which would need to be
reversed suddenly.
In fact, NBR is expecting the local economy to
recover from last year’s loss as early as mid-
2021 and then to register a surplus demand in
the third quarter. This means a much better
dynamic than previously anticipated. However,
a higher demand in economy also implies
inflationary pressures, which will be tempered
by a lower advance in consumption and wages.
Inflation has increased from 2.1% in December
to 3.2% in February. Although the main effect
comes from the electricity market liberalisation
for household consumers and the increase in
fuel prices, the core inflation is not showing any
signs of decrease either, as it stopped at 3.1% in
February, compared to 3.3% in December.
The central bank is now expecting an inflation
of 3.4% by the end of the year, namely at the
upper limit of the 1.5-3.5% target, which
is almost one percentage point more than
previously anticipated. The NBR now believes
that the main factors could go from a slightly
disinflationary to a slightly inflationary
contribution, as a result of the transition to a
surplus of aggregate demand, which will be
counterbalanced by a slower consumption pace
and a slower advance of work force costs: where
the effects of the pandemic still persist.
However, the assessments present a high
uncertainty degree, considering that the third
wave of the pandemic has been spreading
internally, and the difficulties in collecting
statistical data.
LESS CONSUMPTION,
MORE INVESTMENT IN
THE ENGINES OF FUTURE
GROWTH
If the advance in the last part of last year was
entirely generated by the domestic demand,
while net exports pulled down the economic
growth, over the next period we could expect a
lower contribution of consumption compared
to the years before the pandemic and a
diminished net export impact.
In fact, the economic growth could be
supported more by investors compared to
2016-2018, amid increased public investment
spending and the knock-on effect on the
private sector, as well as the support, at least
temporarily, from government measures and
programs.
Over the next years, the investment growth
could also be consolidated by attracting
European funds, including through the
Recovery and Resilience Mechanism, as well
as by possible relocation in Romania of some
production capacities withdrawn by European
companies from other continents.
TENSIONS ON THE ENERGY
MARKET
Threats to inflation also come from the energy
market. The price of electricity has increased
by 18.3% in January, after the stumbling from
the electricity market liberalisation process
failed to bring the best offers for consumers,
many of them remaining with the raised prices.
The more expensive electricity led to inflation
increasing by 1.3% compared to December and
from 2.1% to 3% in annual terms.
As a matter in fact, NBR had listed the
electricity market liberalisation among the
potential factors of inflation early this year.
Consumers found out late, in December, about
the conditions for changing several million
contracts in order to choose a market offer
that ensures at least keeping their bills’ value
in place. The big suppliers announced much
higher prices for customers who did not
accept a new offer, and authorities came up
with various proposals following the negative
reactions, but statistics confirms significant
costs rise.
However, there are prospects for energy to
become cheaper in the short term, even if
reduced competition could be to the detriment
of consumers, in the long run.
This is a time when, according to analysts,
given the rising inflationary pressures, NBR
is trying to keep three balls in the air at the
same time: exchange rate stability, long-term
sustainable costs for public debt and preventing
the interest rate growth on short-term. It looks
13
like a risky equilibrium situation, in which the
central bank has shown a clear preference for
exchange rate stability.
THE FINANCIAL RECOVERY
PLAN
With interest rates quite low so far, the
financing of companies has been increasing
even since last summer, supported also by
risk subsidies granted by the state, through
programs such as SME Invest. In annual terms,
credits for non-financial companies grew by
6.7% in February, meaning an advance of
7.9B RON, the highest over the last year and a
half, up to a value of 126.1B RON.
However, the growth rate of loans for the
population has decelerated strongly in the last
year, to 4.3% compared to 7.9% in February
2020, to a balance of 150.6B RON.
Regarding the population, the reported new
loans granted in the last 12 months amounted
to 35B RON, with almost 4.2B RON below the
level from the previous year.
However, mortgage loans went very well,
with an advance of 9.7% in the last year, to
90.4B RON, decreasing from 10.3% in February
2020, but on an upward trend in terms of
nominal volume, from 7.7 to 8B RON. Banks
have granted new home loans of 15.1B RON,
and actual interest rates on mortgages have
fallen by 0.7 points, to about 5% in the last year,
but remain far from the historical low values of
below 4% registered in 2016-2017.
CONSTRUCTIONS, STARS OF
GROWTH. HORECA, UNDER
UNCERTAINTY
The increase in real estate financing brings
optimistic prospects for further growth in the
construction market, as the evolution of this
sector has already defied the crisis so far. The
residential and logistics segments have been
the stars of the new projects, and the only
14
segment somewhat affected by the pandemic
was the offices market, given the fact that many
companies sent their employees to work from
home.
This year could bring over 1M square meters
of industrial, office and retail modern spaces
on the local real estate market, if developers
manage to complete all the projects announced
for 2021. Thus, the deliveries announced will
exceed the area completed in 2020, which
counts almost 890,000 square meters of modern
space.
This year, the logistics and industrial segment
will be again the engine of the real estate
development market, as projects planned to be
delivered nationally will represent 67% of the
total, and the stock of spaces will exceed 5.7M
square meters.
In fact, despite the medical crisis, last year was
also reasonably good for the Romanian real
estate market. While office and retail projects,
which imply large crowds of people, have been
directly affected by pandemic restrictions
and are still awaiting a return to normal, the
industrial segment has actually had a record
year in terms of transactions and space
deliveries.
Regarding the office market in Bucharest,
developers announced they will deliver projects
with a total area of 252,000
​​ sqm in 2021,
compared to 155,200 sqm in 2020. Thus, the
stock of modern buildings in Bucharest could
reach 3.2M square meters by the end of the year.
On the retail market, shopping centres and
retail parks of 142,200 square meters were
delivered overall in 2020, outside Bucharest
alone, raising the total stock at a national level
to more than 3.7M square meters. By 2021, the
completion of approximately 160,000 square
meters of modern retail spaces is expected, with
18% being in Bucharest. The stock will thus
reach 3.86M square meters nationwide, if all
announced projects are completed.
On the other hand, the office market has
decreased by 36% last year, from the record
level of 470,000 square meters in 2019, to
300,000 square meters. Despite the fact that the
number and, therefore, the volume traded in
2020 have decreased significantly, the average
value of a transaction is actually higher than
last year.
In Q1 2021, 9 real estate transactions were
closed, at an average value of 11M euro, the
largest being the purchase of the Bucharest
Financial Plaza office building, sold by BCR to
the Austrian investment fund Immofinanz, for
approximately 36M euro.
The demand for office spaces in Bucharest will
increase by 20-30% this year, as many large
tenants are out of the stand-by period and are
already weighting their options to optimize the
need for space.
The growth of investors’ appetite for industrial
projects is remarkable: 38M euro of the total
volume in the first quarter was generated by
transactions with industrial spaces, almost
equal to the volume generated by office
buildings. Other 20M euro were invested in
hotels, a segment for which interest is restored,
although the sector has been severely affected
by the pandemic.
For some sectors, however, the recovery
from the crisis will not be as easy. A quarter
of tourism and HoReCa entrepreneurs can
no longer open their business due to lack of
financial resources, as grants promised by
authorities have been delayed, and industry
representatives are also highlighting the lack
of predictability related to regulations and
restrictions.
Compensation by 20% of the 2020/2019
turnover difference has been delayed for
hospitality industry operators, but the specific-
tax exemption for the HoReCa sector, initially
set for March, will be extended to cover the
summer of 2021.
CONSUMPTION HABITS AND
CHANGING STRATEGIES
Apart from impacting the companies’ balance
sheet, the pandemic has also generated changes
in the habits and behavior of individuals, as
well as when it comes to the strategies followed
by businessmen and managers.
People started buying and working differently,
and some of these changes are likely to
continue even after the pandemic is over. A
study conducted by Accenture shows that
avoiding crowded spaces will continue even
after restrictions are eliminated, consumers
will socialize in their own homes, or over to
their relatives’ or friends’ house, more than
before the pandemic, and companies in the
consumer goods industry will try to use more
the opportunities offered by the residential
environment to create new experiences for
consumers.
Companies offering omnichannel options
(across all sales channels) will continue to enjoy
higher demand as new consumers migrate
online. The use of home delivery services, chat
and virtual counselling features has already
increased since the beginning of the pandemic,
and the trend will continue.
The study estimates that the demand for local
products and brands will also continue to
increase, with consumers continuing to choose
nearby shops and locally produced goods.
Other trends that will affect the consumer
goods industry, which intensified during the
pandemic, are the concern for health, adapting
home arrangements and functionalities to
remote work, and the increase of online
purchases among new users, who only used
traditional retail before the pandemic.
Given these conditions, the IT sector in
Romania will continue its consistent growth.
In the first two months of the year, it advanced
by 73% compared to the same period in 2020,
while the office equipment segment went up
by almost 56%, after the remarkable increases
of last year, when sales were uplifted by
restrictions.
15
 THE
CONSUMER

16 17
THE CONSUMER
Few things have impacted our recent history
in such a profound way as the 2020’s pandemic.
Even if older generations still carry the memory
of days when scarcity of food supplies, health
services and other immediate needs referred
to something more severe than a long wait for
the food delivery courier or on the doctor’s
online appointment list, COVID-19 is the most
serious event that happened during the lifetime
of Millennials and Gen Z-ers in Romania, and
it has led to difficult health and economic
consequences for a part of the population.
On the perception level, however, the whole
society was affected. According to a GWI
custom study done in June/July 2020, 74.3%
of the online population in Romania felt
concerned about the pandemic situation in
our own country, even more so than about
the global situation (72.3%), while being
moderately optimistic about the fact that our
country will overcome the outbreak (62.2%).
GWI data, Q: How concerned are you about the
coronavirus / COVID-19 situation in your country?
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0% Not at all A little Quite Very Extremely
concerned concerned concerned concerned concerned
Gen Z Gen Y (Millenials) Gen X Baby Boomers
The GWI study also shows that nearly half
of internet users in Romania expected the
pandemic outbreak to highly impact their
personal and household finances back in June/
July 2020. And these fears were – to some
extent – justified, with nearly as many people
having jobs affected by the pandemic situation:
20.7% had a paycut, 14.8% had working hours
reduced, 14.3% had a bonus / payrise deferred,
12% have been temporarily laid off and 5.8%
18
lost their job. And, in this low confidence
environment, 83.9% of online population in
Romania preferred to wait for the initial shock
to pass before starting to consider again big
purchases such as cars, vacations or home
appliances.
The lack of high optimism was also reflected
in the way Romanians predicted the economy
would evolve, 86.3% were preparing for a big or
even dramatic impact. The reality has, however,
exceeded the expectations: the economy is
growing at a faster pace than the initial forecast,
and a full recovery of the economic production
in Romania is anticipated as soon as this year.
The pandemic has changed how we live,
work, buy and interact with others as social
distancing guidelines have led to a more virtual
existence, both personally and professionally.
People have embraced technology more than
ever to support the consequences of isolation,
as data shows that time spent on smartphones
has increased during this period for 67.8% of
online individuals in Romania, laptops (59.3%)
and PC / desktops (43.9%) also helped mediate
the connection with the outside world, while
interest for using smart TVs has risen for no
less than 27% of online individuals - a trend
that has turned smart TVs into the 3rd most
used device of 2020, surpassing tablets.
The COVID-19 outbreak has slowed the pace of
daily life for many, and this has had a profound
impact on our activities and on how we engage
with friends, families, and communities. The
focus has turned towards spending more time
socializing as a family for 40.3%, trying to find
joy in the small things in life by spending more
time cooking delicious food (39.7%) or simply
taking care of the mind and spirit: 32.3% read
more books and 30.9% spent more time with
their hobbies.
Social distancing encouraged people to stay
apart, but technology has helped individuals
be together and explore personal pursuits.
While spending longer time on messaging
services (48%) or social media networks (43.8%),
watching more news coverage (47.1%), videos
on YouTube (46.8%), TV on broadcast channels regularly also in the future: 51.1% of online
(41.8%) or streaming services such as Netflix individuals in Romania are very or even
(40.8%), the consumer media consumption extremely interested by the prospect of working
has changed during the 2020’s pandemic. We from home permanently. A high percentage of
adapted to a reality where free movement was employees feel they have the right conditions
restricted, and thus we turned towards home and tools for remote work, but some miss social
entertainment. contact.
Social distancing encouraged people to stay The lower number of new COVID-19 cases
apart, but technology has helped individuals will allow the travel and HoReCa industries to
be together and explore personal pursuits. slowly but steadily recover, schools will recall
children in classes, the news TV channels
While spending longer time on messaging
and websites will lose the boom they achieved
services (48%) or social media networks (43.8%),
during the pandemic, people will start again
watching more news coverage (47.1%), videos
to drive and use public transportation freely.
on YouTube (46.8%), TV on broadcast channels
But the things that made our lives not only
(41.8%) or streaming services such as Netflix
possible – during the restrictions, but also
(40.8%), the consumer media consumption
easier – such as online shopping, virtual
has changed during the 2020’s pandemic. We medical appointments, the ability to work
adapted to a reality where free movement was remotely for office jobs, these are most likely to
restricted, and thus we turned towards at home be kept and encapsulated into our new reality.
entertainment.
We might feel like we lost a year out of our lives,
As the pandemic unfolded, people began but in fact we might have collectively nurtured
working from home as businesses closed a huge advance in the way we see and do
doors and encouraged remote work. But many things. And we did this while watching history
employees plan to work from home more unfolding before our eyes.
GWI data, Q: Once the coronavirus outbreak is over, do you think you'll carry on doing the following?
Spending more time socializing as a family 23%
Spending more time cooking 23%
Spending longer on messaging services (WhatsApp, FB Messenger, etc.)
21%
Spending more time on hobbies / pastimes
19%
Watching more shows / films on streaming services (Netflix, etc.) 19%
Watching more videos (e. g. on YouTube) 19%
Reading more books / listening to more audiobooks 17%
Watching more news coverage 14%
Spending longer on social media (Facebook, Instagram, etc.) 14%
Spending longer talking on the telephone to others 12%
Watching more TV on broadcast channels
11%
Spending more time on computer / video games
11%
Spending more time on apps 10%
Spending more time using online learning platforms for yourself 10%
Listening to more radio 9%
Listening to more streaming services (Spotify, Apple Music, etc) 8%
Listening to more podcasts 6%
Reading more newspapers 5%
Spending more time using online learning platforms for your child(ren) 4%
Creating / uploading videos (e. g. on YouTube, TikTok, etc) 3%
Spending more time on esports 3%
Reading more magazines 3%
19
 MEDIA
MARKET

20 21
THE MEDIA
Total net ad-spend evolution (Mil. €)
600
514
500 480 462

MARKET
454 +11%
412
400
332
366 -3.8%
313
300
200

IN 2020
100
0
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 est.

Media TOTAL (Mil €) TV Print Radio OOH Digital

2014 313 198 17 18 28 51
2015 332 212 16 19 28 57
2016 366 240 14 20 28 64
2017 412 273 13 23 29 73
MARKET OVERVIEW 2018 454 300 13 26 31 85
2019 480 308 12 28 32 99
In 2020, after six years of consistent growth, consumption, social and e-commerce came
2020 462 302 6 24 24 105
the net media market registered a marginal together to create a ‘perfect storm-shelter’.
2021 est. 514 329 6 26 27 125
contraction (-3.8%) at 462M euro. Looking
now at the year-end results, one can see that While digital was thriving (with local display
At this moment (June 2021), there are radio industries will partially recover their
the pandemic impact on the media market taking a hit, nevertheless), TV stations had
solid reasons to hope for a year of recovery. losses (+10% and +12%, respectively). Digital
development was limited to a couple of months a tougher time during the first half of the Restrictions are being waived and the media (+19%) will maintain its high inertia.
disruption during the first lockdown (15th Mar- year, in spite of an audience boost. Finally, TV vaccination campaign carries on, albeit at a TV audiences are expected to come back on a
15th May), recovering smoothly in the second registered a marginal decrease (-2%) after a slower pace. The general mood is optimistic, decreasing track, but the TV market will rise
part of the year, and reaching an unprecedented fulminating recovery starting September 2020. as COVID-19 testing is less a way to detect (+9%), supported by double digits buying CPP
TV sold out situation and huge inflations
OOH, radio and print were the most affected, disease and more a ticket for holidays abroad. inflation.
especially in airtime quality parameters, during
because pandemic limitations directly reduced The debate goes on about the ‘settling point’ for
the second (partial) lockdown. Overall, for 2021 we expect the media market to
their audiences. the post-pandemic transformation. But as life
comes back on tracks, so do audiences, which resume the growing trend at +11% vs. 2020 and
Looking back to the most dramatic year in
makes us believe that the hard-hit OOH and to exceed 500M euro.
recent history, we have to acknowledge that
digital media was the clear winner, the only
media with a positive evolution (+6%). It 2014-2021 MARKET SHARE (NET AD-SPEND BY MEDIA)
should be noted that digital had been driving 6% 5% 4% 3%
6%
3%
6%
3% 5% 1% 5% 1%
increases in the media market for a long time. 6% 6% 6%
6% 5% 5%
8% 7% 7% 7%
However, in 2020 existing trends in mobile 9% 8%

18% 19% 21% 23% 24%

17% 18%
16%

63% 64% 65% 66% 66% 64% 65% 64%

2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 est

TV Digital OOH Radio Print
22 23
The market share snapshot gives us a welcome
break from pandemic scenarios – indeed, with
stable TV and constantly rising digital, 2020
doesn’t look very different from other years.
At a more careful look, we notice that the
resilience of TV and growth of digital come at a
cost for OOH, radio and print – now squeezed
together in just little over 10% of the market.
Even on a recovery trend, they don’t manage to
2020 TOP MEDIA INVESTORS: STABLE TOP 3, BUT DRAMATIC
CHANGES VS. 2019 ACROSS ECONOMY SECTORS
The pandemic debut and first lockdown had a
dramatic first impact on people but soon after
that the life-threatening concern was replaced
by the fear of economic consequences, as the
state of alert continued throughout the year and
in Q1 2021. Given the prolonged uncertainty,
some economic sectors were severely affected,
especially those related to leisure and tourism,
fashion and beauty services, gyms, fitness clubs
and gas stations, as physical shops were either
closed or had a reduced activity. Shopping
malls, very popular among urban Romanians
were closed almost permanently during
the lockdown except for grocery stores and
pharmacies, which were open to provide basic
supplies.
This economic turmoil impacted advertisers’
media activity dramatically in April-June,
when the industry was close to a standstill
status, expecting to see the sanitary crisis
development and the potentially new
administrative decisions related to it. During
the partial relaxation, in July-September, the
market went back on track reflecting activity
levels comparable to 2019, while during the last
quarter of 2020, despite the partial lockdown,
24
gain share in 2021, according to our estimations.
As we will see in the following paragraphs,
OOH and radio are both evolving, updating
measurement and distribution. Which raises
the question about how they will perform in the
medium term and to what extent each of them
will, in fact, turn to digital (as it has already
happened with most of print).
the TV market achieved an unprecedented high
airtime demand, a clear sign of “going back to
normal”, also favored by the good vibe due to
the implementation of the vaccination strategy.
By the end of 2020, the top 3 investing sectors
of the media and advertising industry were food
& beverages, retail and healthcare, keeping the
same dominant positions as in 2019, despite
some budgets dynamics between product /
services categories. Net media investments
showed a positive evolution for sectors which
were favored by impact of the sanitary crisis
on lifestyles, such as bets & gambling (+84%),
e-commerce (+72%), healthcare (+10%), and
energy (+8%), where major players deployed
aggressive media communication prior to the
energy market liberalization deadline. On
the negative trend, constructions materials &
services (-40%), automotive (-39%), HoReCa
(-32%) as well as leisure activities (-30%) were
severely impacted by the prolonged mobility
restrictions and the shift towards more cautious
and rational shopping behavior (saving money
rather than making expensive purchases or
investments).
The 17% estimated drop in food & beverages
net media spend was generated by significant
lower activity from the sweets, non-alcoholic
beverages and coffee, cocoa & tea categories,
which reduced budgets. The retail sector had
an overall stable evolution, but with different
dynamics at category level, triggered by new
demand patterns resulting from lifestyle
changes: a boost of the grocery retail chains
which focused on proving both an emotional
support and a diversified supply, a significant
reduction of media investments in the
household deco retail category (furniture &
appliances) and DIY retail, which became
less important in the short term. The electro-
IT category registered a marginal budget
increase (7%), which can be connected to a
growth in demand for computers & internet-
related accessories, generated by working and
2020 MEDIA MARKET SNAPSHOT & 2021 PERSPECTIVES
TELEVISION EXPERIENCED AN AUDIENCE
BOOST DURING THE PANDEMIC, DRIVEN
MOSTLY BY TOP GENERALIST CHANNELS &
NEWS
Last year brought a reverse in TV audience
trends – from a sustained yearly decrease
to an increase of 3% vs. 2019 on the 18-54
Urban buying target. This was due to two
peaks – the first one during the early sanitary
crisis (mid-March to May), the second in
autumn (especially in October), due to the local
elections and the second COVID-19 wave.
Compared to 2019, the Top 3 channels reflected
different performance evolution in terms of
ratings and audience share: Pro TV (Rtg. 4%
& SOA 21.5% vs. rtg. 3.89% & SOA 21.5%),
Antena 1 Rtg. 2.86% & SOA 15.4% vs. Rtg.
learning at home. Healthcare was the only top
3 sector to increase its media budget in 2020, as
pandemic related products such as vitamins &
supplements, as well as pharma brands, were
more present in media, capitalizing on the
general fear of illness and the need for a strong
immunity. The e-commerce sector boost was
driven by both pureplay retailers (eMag, Domo.
ro, Fashiondays etc.) and service providers in
delivery (Foodpanda, Glovo, Bringo) and ride
sharing (Uber).
The sectors expected to recover in terms of
media budgets in 2021 are cosmetics & personal
care, and clothing & footwear, as people will
start going out more often. Recovery is also
probable in financial services, as the need for
highly digitalized banking services & products
will keep banks on their toes in their attempt to
increase or defend their customer bases.
2.59% & SOA 14.3%) and Kanal D (Rtg. 1.7%
& SOA 9.1% vs, 1.6% Rtg. & SOA 8.8%). Top
generalist channels are followed by a cluster
of strong News stations: Antena 3 (Rtg. 0.7%,
Shr. 3.7%), Digi 24 (Rtg. 0.7%, Shr. 3.6%) and
Romania TV (Rtg. 0.7%, Shr 3.5%).
TV sold inventory ended unexpectedly in a
flat YoY evolution, after a dramatic decrease
in Q2 and unprecedented sold-out levels
during summer and autumn
Despite all the challenges the TV market faced
in 2020, the efforts that broadcasters, agencies
and advertisers made throughout the year
paid off in the end in terms of revenues: 302M
euro vs. 308M euro in 2019 (-2%). The sold
inventory was dramatically affected in Q2
when a lot of advertisers stopped their activity,
not knowing what to expect. Still, a demand
25
increase appeared in summer and autumn,
leading to an unprecedented sold out situation
and huge inflations especially in airtime quality
parameters. The 2020 average yearly loading
level in ad break was around 83% for All Day
and 93% in Prime Time.
Generalist TV channels profiles shifted
mostly around social status
TV audience profile changes vs. 2019 were
less noticeable during the different periods
of relaxation (17 June-19 October), when TV
viewing habits trend were of returning to the
previous normality. This leads us to believe
that changes in audience profiles are rather
temporary, not decisively influenced by a
long-term transition towards work-from-home
(which was also in effect outside the mentioned
periods). This reverse will not last – we believe
that coming back to out-of-home life will bring
TV audiences back on their long-term trend.
2020 brought in front of the TV more people of
medium-high social status (ABC social grades
+3.1pp vs. 2019) and more women (+1.1pp).
These figures may seem small, but they are
significant as average evolutions, especially
concerning higher social grades, which
traditionally drove audience decreases. People
aged 35-54 and elders (urban 65+) were also
more present. In part, these transformations
were caused by work from home and online
school. In part, the higher presence of women
at home may also be related to a higher
incidence of unemployment, as mentioned by
several reports. At the same time, TV viewing
shifted towards off-prime-time.
News channels have been balancing gender
as a result of significant audience increase
In a couple of days, during mid-March 2020,
news channels leaped from the status of niche
to that of national beacons, enabling mass
audiences to navigate the stormy beginning
of the pandemic. Digi 24 registered the
26
most spectacular evolution, with a 4-5 times
performance growth during the spring
lockdown. Their previously male-oriented
audience became more balanced as the station
went mainstream, with a 4pp increase in
women. Romania TV, Realitatea Plus and
B1 TV also balanced their penetration by
gender, compared to 2019. Antena 3 stood as
an exception, as it further increased its female
audience skew (+2.6 pp). All news channels
increased their preference among ABC social
grades. Digi 24 won significantly in preference
among 35-44 y.o. and even 45-64 y.o., while
Antena 3 gained only in the 65+ y.o. segment.
Local productions maintained their audience
leadership despite pandemic hardships
Talent shows and cooking programs continues
to be the most popular genres since 2016.
Romanii au talent (Pro TV) remained the most
viewed talent show, followed by Chefi la cutite
(Antena 1), and Asia Express. The first season
of Masked Singer jumped directly in top 5
most watched entertainment shows. iUmor
achieved the best rating since 2016. Despite
the difficulties imposed by the restrictions,
the main TV channels continued their
programming strategy with local productions.
Pro TV maintained leadership with most
shows in top: Romanii au talent (Rtg 14.1%),
Las fierbinti (Rtg. 11.7%), Visuri la cheie
(Rtg. 8.1%), and added two new productions,
Imperiul leilor (Rtg. 8.6%) and Masked Singer
(Rtg. 7.2%). Antena 1 cotinued to be a strong
challenger, airing its well-known productions
Chefi la cutite (Rtg. 10.4%), Asia Express (Rtg.
10.2%), iUmor (Rtg. 6.8%) and Te cunosc de
undeva (Rtg. 7.1%). In 2020, Kanal D’s program
grid continued to be dominated by Turkish
productions such as Ma numesc Zuleyha (Rtg.
5.3%), Gulperi (Rtg. 4.9%) and Nemilosul
Istanbul (Rtg. 4.8%). It also had lower
performance with Survivor (Rtg. 4.3%).
2021 TV PERSPECTIVES:
As the sanitary restrictions are gradually
dropping, Total TV viewing is expected to
maintain a descending trend compared to
2020, which was a year of disruption in the
continuous historical rating downtrend of 5%-
6% YoY.
Still, comparing the YTD market evolution
with a usual period such as Jan-May 2019, the
Total TV rating decreased only by 3% in 2021
An important shift in 2021 TV channels’ sales
policy is the usage of more mature buying
targets definitions, to better monetize their
advertising airtime, the most notable ones
being All 21-54 Urban (+ guests) and All 21-54
ABCD National (+ guests) in place now on Pro
TV, and Antena 1 shifting from All 18-49 Urban
(+ guests) to All 18-54 Urban (+ guests).
In the second half of 2021 Pro TV will
continue with Las fierbinti, Visuri la cheie, a
new season of Masked Singer and will launch
a new production, Superstar. Keeping the
pace, Antena 1 will bring new seasons of Asia
Express, iUmor, X Factor and will launch a
new show, Stand-Up Revolution. Kanal D will
continue airing Turkish series, the local show
Roata norocului and a new season of Bravo, ai
stil! Also, sports competitions resumed this
year, and significant budgets are expected to
be invested at EURO 2021 and The Olympic
Games, which were postponed from 2020.
By the end of 2021 we estimate a revival of
revenues at 329M euro (+9% vs. 2020, + 7% vs.
2019), with double digits buying CPP inflation
in a TV landscape marked by a decline in
ratings and sold inventory for the summer and
the beginning of autumn.
DIGITAL MEDIA WAS THE BIG WINNER OF
THE PANDEMIC, AS E-COMMERCE RECEIVED
A BOOST AND ‘ALWAYS ON’ MOBILE
CONSUMPTION BROUGHT RESILIENCE
AGAINST LIFESTYLE CHANGES
Digital spend grew up by 6% vs. 2019, reaching
105M euro, significantly influenced by
programmatic (+20%), Google (+8%) and
Facebook (+6%), while local display decreased
by 5%.
Initiative digital estimations do not take
into consideration the “long-tail” of small
advertisers.
2020 demonstrated that digital media is a
mature market in Romania
Even if there were some decreases in March
and April, the market has proven to have
matured and to perceive digital media as a
must-have ongoing communication touchpoint.
In these very special times, digital has excelled
in some specific areas: the speed of messages
customization, engagement potential and, last
but not least, an impressive “always-on” reach
potential (during the lockdown or outside
movement restrictions periods, mobile turned
out to be omnipresent for the biggest part of the
population).
Internet penetration continued to increase,
and mobile gained ground even with older
generations
From a media consumption perspective, 2020
brought a significant leap in terms of internet
penetration, reaching 90% in urban areas (vs.
86% in 2019), respectively 77% in rural areas
(vs. 72% in 2019), with some segments attaining
almost maximum numbers (e.g. households led
by an employee, where children are also present,
have 99% internet penetration).
Mobile continued to be main device for almost
all generations (less Baby Boomers who still
have a preference for desktops or laptops),
while the most usual activities (on mobile) were
using messaging apps (85%), taking pictures
(78%), accessing social media (76%), sending
text messages (72%) and online video & online
audio (65%).
27
E-commerce, which already enjoyed a good
evolution, received an unexpected boost
One of the most important shifts in digital was
the big increase of the e-commerce market,
+30% vs. 2019, bringing in both new customers
and new categories (such as medicines or sports
equipment). Most Romanians have overcome
trust barriers (such as the ones regarding online
payment), while delivery services succeeded
to adapt to an unprecedented demand (Glovo
recorded 150M euro traded value through the
platform in 2020, respectively +400% vs. 2019).
E-commerce will surely continue to grow in
2021, most likely exceeding the 6.5B euro
threshold by the end of this year.
THE OOH INDUSTRY PASSED THROUGH
MEMORABLE TIMES, DUE TO THE PANDEMIC,
BUT ALSO DUE TO THE LAUNCH OF THE
AUDIENCE MEASUREMENT STUDY (SAO /
BRAT)
After several years of stability in terms of OOH
advertising budgets, in 2020, the COVID-19
pandemic managed to erase in 12 months
almost 5 years of growth, generating a 25%
cut, at an estimated net investment of 24.3M
euro. The downtrend was a natural result of
the business-related worries created by the
uncertainty of how long the sanitary crisis
would last, how it would affect the market and
when we could hope for a recovery. Therefore,
although the traffic went down only by 35%
during the lockdown and by an estimated
15%-20% average throughout the year, generally,
advertisers were reluctant to invest in OOH
campaigns, fearing that further restrictions /
lockdowns could severely reduce the ads reach
potential and implicitly the campaigns ROI.
This action on the advertisers’ side was part of
a recurring pattern, as until the beginning of
2021, OOH had been the only media channel
with no audience data measurement and
planning capabilities. For this reason, whenever
the market was disturbed, outdoor media
28
received a disproportionate hit. The launch of
the Outdoor Audience Measurement Survey
(SAO), on the 15th of April 2021, marks a
milestone for the Romanian OOH industry.
Put on hold in 2020 by BRAT (the local trans-
media audience measurement association)
due to restrictions, SAO now enables a
more analytic approach to outdoor. Media
specialists can now provide specific audience
data, optimize exposure, and generate insights
about consumers’ travel habits, enabling OOH
campaign planning and optimization in line
with target audience behaviors and campaign
specifics. Different types of analysis can now
be conducted for specific target audience
definitions, for the whole region or specifically
for cities of interest for the campaign, enabling
optimization and planning geo-flexibility as per
clients’ objectives.
The study currently covers 7,200 advertising
locations in Bucharest and top 10 cities
(Timisoara, Iasi, Constanta, Craiova, Oradea,
Cluj Napoca, Sibiu, Bacau, Brasov si Ploiesti),
with Pitesti to be added to the measurement
soon. This represents approx. 75% of the
existing locations in the respective cities, as
only big OOH vendors have joined the survey
so far. The Bucharest subway is not included,
as Metrorex was not part of the research and
Phoenix Media TV screens are also not part of
the study yet. The research is based on a sample
of 13,252 respondents (4,200 in Bucharest and
750-1,300 in the rest of the cities) among the
14-74 y.o. population (approx. 3.5M individuals)
and is conducted in a continuous process of
face-to-face data collection by CAPI interviews.
Of course, weighting factors such as gender,
age, locality size, day of the week etc. are taken
into consideration to make the data relevant.
Basically, it measures the number of people and
the profile of those who see an OOH support
and it reports it as a weekly average, providing
media planning data for all the supports present
in the survey.
Brands adapted their approach during
lockdown, to match the new context and also
support a good cause: everybody’s safety
In 2020, most advertisers changed their
approach, concentrating their presence in
cities larger than 100k population and shifted
to using more small formats, trying to cover
more territory with less money. Retailers
consolidated their dominance in terms of
OOH ad presence, followed by pharma and
gambling advertisers, these being the economic
sectors which were favored, as the sanitary
crisis increased the demand for their products
/ services. They were closely followed by banks
and telecommunications.
2021 OOH PERSPECTIVES:
There is already an obvious improvement from
last year in outdoor invested budgets, and
things are gradually coming to a new normal in
2021. As the vaccination campaign continues
and there already is more freedom to travel,
traffic indicators are increasing, driving the
reach potential of OOH supports. 2021 started
with decent size campaigns from retail and
betting. Signs of improvement are also coming
from telecommunications, banks and FMCG
advertisers. Significant budgets are expected
to be allocated for communication supporting
the summer festivals, and EURO 2021, leading
to a boost of the overall OOH spending, as
restrictions will soften in the coming weeks.
SAO will continue to consolidate its position as
the unique reliable source of scientific data for
OOH audience measurement. We expect that
the study will continue to grow into perfection,
by new vendors joining the effort and more
supports being added to the audience and
monitoring systems.
The overall recovery of the OOH market is
expected to reach +12% in spending in 2021,
with an estimated total of 27.2M Euro.
RADIO AT A CROSSROADS IN 2020
2020 was a turning point for the radio industry
through the overlapping of two important
factors: the pandemic and a major change in
the radio audience measurement methodology,
both generating shifts in the radio consumption
habits and radio channels audience
performance. The combined effects of effects of
the two trends resulted in an estimated decrease
of the radio stations ad revenues to 22.5M euro
(-20%) compared to 2019.
Accelerated transition towards digital content
integration
Radio stations were among the first media
channels to adapt their programming by setting
more frequent news slots and strengthening the
bond with listeners. As it continued to play the
traditional role of the “voice in the room”, radio
content expanded from the usual receiving
devices to web, mobile apps, social and TV.
Europa FM, Digi FM, Radio ZU, Kiss FM,
Magic FM, and Rock FM were the first stations
to produce daily special editions in the form
of syntheses containing recent information,
news, and recommendations, with the support
of the most credible opinion leaders from the
Romanian society.
The sanitary crisis, marked by mobility
restrictions, has driven the need for human-
to-human connection. Now many urban
employees are experiencing Zoom fatigue,
especially white collars.
A desire for authentic, unfiltered discourse
and interaction with other people was born,
and Radio stations grabbed the opportunity to
adopt social audio as part of their programming
strategy for 2020, to better engage with their
loyal listeners. Social media platforms, digital
audio, virtual events, and conversations have
been made available for listeners to interact,
and to marketers to engage consumers in a
dialogue which makes the relationship more
personal.
Surprisingly, although radio content has
found effective digital outlets, this does not
drive a significant increase in online listening.
Traditional radios still lead as listening devices,
with almost 58% urban daily reach, despite
the 11% drop vs. 2019. The penetration of
digital devices use did not reflect the expected
dynamics: mobile decreased marginally from
29
13% to 12%, PC/laptops as well, from 8% to
7%, the only increase was seen in Smart TV
usage for radio programs listening, which had a
marginal increase to almost 4%.
The radio audience measurement
methodology was aligned to Romanians’
living & working dynamics within the EU
In 2020, the Romanian Radio industry has
decided to make a significant audience
measurement methodology change, as the 2011
national census statistical data about population
size and structure was no longer in line with
reality. The measurement base switched from
permanent addresses according to census data,
to residents in Romania. This accounted for the
significant changes brought by work migration,
resulting in a decrease of around 1.2M people
in the 11+ daily reach at National level and of
500k in Urban.
2021 RADIO PERSPECTIVES:
Two major trends are expected to further
shape the radio industry: first is that linear
in-car radio listening will recover, as mobility
restrictions have been cancelled, however, the
audience recovery will be partial because many
employees will continue to work partly from
home, especially in Bucharest and big urban
area. Second is that radio stations will continue
to develop mobile apps, and the development
of special integrated projects will make social
media become an important trigger for radio
content consumption, helping radio trusts to
aggregate higher media and marketing budget
shares.
The new normality will continue to offer
growth opportunities for radio stations to build
strong 360 radio brands identities based on
their live linear transmissions as well as on
powerful and more diversified digital properties.
In this context, the net radio market is expected
to increase by 10% vs. 2020 at the level of
approx. 26.5M euro, as the social relaxation
30
and people embracing a new normal life will
support radio stations to compensate the loss
from linear radio sales with revenues from
integrated content accessible in several places
and on multiple devices.
PRINT: THE DEMISE OF THE INDUSTRY WAS
ACCELERATED IN 2020 BY THE PANDEMIC.
YET, THE SURVIVING TITLES SUCCESSFULLY
ADDRESS CROSS-MEDIA AUDIENCES
Print media was already on a descending trend
due to reduced distribution and a continued
transition of readers towards digital media. In
2020 the mobility restrictions enforced by the
government reduced dramatically the demand
for print publications and implicitly the
central titles’ distribution across the national
territory, as most of the sales points were closed
during spring total lockdown. As a result,
the estimated net print advertising revenues
dropped by 49% vs. 2019, at the level of 6.2M
euro, the highest drop since the establishment
of the print advertising market in Romania.
In this context, integrating digital properties in
commercial offers became vital for publishers.
Some of them are already using the industry
syndicated study for consumer and brand
research SNA-FOCUS developed under
BRAT association to measure their brands 360
degrees extended audience, turning it into a
valuable tool in their strategic approach, while
building integrated commercial offers. Based
on 2020 average performance, the analysis
shows that both print and digital touchpoints
tend to be important audience vectors. For
example, comparing the three dailies present
in this BRAT module, Adevarul (main quality
daily), Click (most popular daily) and Ziarul
Financiar (most prestigious financial daily),
the strength of each touchpoint is different, as
socio-demographic profiles vary among them.
For example, in case of Adevarul, the average
exclusive online audience is four times the
print title readership (1988k vs. 452k). Ziarul
Financiar also reflects a significant exclusive
online audience, with high duplication across
different digital supports. At the opposite end,
Click reflects the genuine tabloid reader profile
for whom the print copy exclusive audience
is dominant, being almost twice the online
audience (955k vs. 502k).
During lockdown, some publishers adopted
content strategies to overcome the blocked
distribution channels
The distribution challenges imposed by the
pandemic determined some of the publishers
to suspend the print editions and to enter a
predominantly digitalized era, as major players
such as Mediafax, Adevarul Holding, Romania
Libera, Bursa, NewMoney, NewsWeek, shifted
their titles to online versions. Other publishers,
such as Ringier and City Publishing (ex. Burda)
decided to keep the printed issues in limited
editions or change the release frequency (e.g.,
weeklies became fortnightlies). In their attempt
to keep their loyal readers interested during the
pandemic, all printed publications were also
made available for free, in e-paper format, to
online readers.
To keep advertising budgets from a total
collapse, starting with the first lockdown in
March 2020, print publishers shifted their effort
towards developing more of their titles’ social
media accounts, including the most recent ones
such as TikTok and providing more digital
integration to their advertising clients. Some
glossy magazines such as Elle, Unica and
Forbes moved their offline events online.
More abrupt print readership decline in the
pandemic year. The impact of a disruptive year
was also visible in a more abrupt readership
decline among Urban 14-74 y.o. population for
daily newspapers and weeklies. The average
coverage of dailies decreased at 3.7% (-1.2pp)
from an already low level, as most urban active
adults switched years ago to news websites,
while weeklies dropped at 4.2% (-1.7pp), also
following a several years declining trend.
Monthlies coverage proved to be less affected
in 2020, keeping steady at 14.6% (actually, with
+0.6pp).
PRINT EXPECTATIONS FOR 2021:
If we were to name a positive effect of the
pandemic, this would be the accelerated
digitalization of offline media channels, print
being, of course, one of them. For publishers
who proved to be more flexible and creative
in the new context, e-paper represented in
2020 the tipping point for engaging more with
their readers through digital editorial content.
From now on, many publishers are expected
to continue developing their digital media
touchpoints and integrate more formats across
several platforms, to better match their readers’
evolving habits for content consumption.
The print component will most probably
continue to diminish in time, as production
costs are high and distribution chains are
not likely to recover soon. Print brands will
continue their digitalization by developing
online editorial content, social media
engagement as well as video content to offer
integrated media exposure to their advertising
clients.
As 2021 is bringing back to everybody’s
attention the two major sports events
postponed from last year, the European
Football Championship and the Tokyo Olympic
Games, both being scheduled during summer,
print publishers will do their best to attract as
high as possible media budget shares, putting
their creativity and products in the most
attractive shape possible for both sports content
consumers and marketers.
In this forecasted context, we estimate that in
2021 the print industry will reach 6.2M euro,
having a flat evolution vs. 2020.
31
 TELEVISION

32 33
 INCREASE IN TOTAL TV
RATINGS IN 2020 INCREASE IN
COMPARED TO 2019 OFF PRIME TIME
3% 6%

TELEVISION
(18-54 URBAN) VIEWING

Generalist channels News channels

Antena 1 Digi 24
(+1.8pp C1C2 (+4.0pp Women,
+1.1pp 35-54) +2.2pp ABC)

LIFESTYLE CHANGES IN 2020 BROUGHT A RESHUFFLE

OF TV AUDIENCE PROFILES
Last year brought a reverse in TV audience
trends – from a sustained yearly decrease
to an increase of 3% vs. 2019 on the 18-54
urban buying target. This was due to two
peaks – the first on during the early sanitary
crisis (mid- March to May), the second in
autumn (especially in October), due to the
local elections and the second COVID-19 wave.
More on this topic in the TV Market Overview
section.
This reverse will not last – we believe that
coming back to out-of-home life will bring
TV audiences back on their long-term
trend. However, it provides us with a unique
opportunity to reassess the potential of Linear
TV – that is, conventional broadcasts by TV
stations as opposed to other types of video
content which may be played on a TV. This
is possible by analyzing audience profiles – a
traditional approach for media planners
and buyers, which enables us to understand
audience features for each station and program. ProTV Kanal D Romania TV B1 TV
(+3.3pp ABC (+2.5pp C1C2 (+3.1pp Men, (-2.1pp Women,
Overall, 2020 brought in front of the TV +2.5pp 35-54) +1.3pp 35-54) +4.4pp ABC) +2.4pp ABC)
more people of medium-high social status
(ABC social grades +3.1pp vs. 2019) and
more women (+1.1pp). These figures may
seem small, but they are significant as average Women thematic Movies
evolutions, especially concerning higher social
grades, which traditionally drove audience
decreases. People aged 35-54 and elders (urban Pro 2 Pro Cinema
(+14.4pp ABC)
65+) were also more present. In part, these (+4.9pp 25-44)
transformations were caused by work from
home and online school. In part, the higher
presence of women at home may also be related
to a higher incidence of unemployment, as
mentioned by several reports. At the same time,
TV viewing shifted towards off prime time.

Diva TLC AXN Film Café

(+4.4pp 35-44) (+3.1pp 35-44) (+4.4pp 35-44) (-3.8pp ABC,
-2.7pp 45-54)

34 35
Generalist channels mostly News channels – balancing Movie channels were more stable, Across 2020, the changes in Total TV ratings
were at their highest during the spring and
shifted around social status gender as a result of significant maintaining already existing autumn lockdowns, and during the short time

Among top generalist channels, two clusters

can be seen. For the first one, the pandemic
brought increased preference among medium-
high urban social grades. Leading this cluster,
Pro TV had the most stable profile evolution,
maintaining the gender balance, and increasing
its preference among ABC urban social grades.
Prima TV enjoyed a visible profile upgrade
with +5.3 pp in AB social grades penetration
and +2 pp in C1C1 social grades penetration,
following subtle changes in the programming
structure and the introduction of new anchors.
National TV maintained the female skew but
gained 2.6 pp male penetration and secured a
+6.5pp penetration in ABC social grades and a
+5pp in the 55+ age group.
The second cluster of generalist channels
consolidated audiences with average status
but lost younger viewers. Antena 1 leads here,
with an increased its skew towards women,
marginally diminishing the AB and DE social
grades penetration in favor of the middle class
(C1C1 social grades). The difficulties faced in
spring and summer in filming new seasons
for the local productions, which were the
channel’s strongest trigger in engaging with
young adults resulted in a 3.7 pp penetration
loss among 25-34 y.o. urban viewers and also a
marginal decrease in Bucharest and large urban
audience increases
In a couple of days, during mid-March 2020,
news channels leaped from the status of niche
to that of national beacons, enabling mass
audiences to navigate the stormy beginning
of the pandemic. Digi 24 registered the
most spectacular evolution, with a 4-5 times
performance growth during the spring
lockdown. Their previously male-oriented
audience became more balanced as the station
went mainstream, with a 4 pp increase in
women. Romania TV, Realitatea Plus and
B1 TV also balanced their penetration by
gender, compared to 2019. Antena 3 stood as
an exception, as it further increased its female
audience skew (+2.6 pp). All news channels
increased their preference among ABC social
grades. Digi24 won significantly in preference
among 35-44 y.o. and even 45-64 y.o., while
Antena 3 gained only in the 65+ y.o. segment.
Women’s thematic channels
showed strong audience shifts in
age and social status
In 2020 Diva gained significant penetration
in 35-44 y.o. (+4.4 pp) and 65+ y.o. (+7.9%),
while Happy Channel and TLC both lost
penetration in AB social grades who moved
towards Antena Stars and TV Paprika. Women
affinities based on their content of school re-opening in summer (2-12 Jun).
TV audience profile changes vs. 2019 were
Among Movie channels, AXN maintained less noticeable during the different periods of
gender balance, while Pro Cinema and Film relaxation (17 Jun-19 Oct), when TV viewing
Café maintained their significant skew towards habits trend were of returning to the previous
male audience. AXN kept a high preference
normality. This leads us to believe that changes
among AB social grades and also gained
in audience profiles are rather temporary, not
penetration among young adults 35-44 y.o.,
decisively influenced by a long-term transition
while Pro Cinema continues to be preferred by
towards work-from-home (which was also an
lower social grades (DE affinity 167), gaining
significant viewers in the younger 25-34 effect outside the mentioned periods).
y.o. (+2.7pp) and 35-44 y.o. (+2.2pp). Film
For detailed data regarding the evolution
Café consolidated its profile in 55+ y.o. and
of audience profiles during 2020, please see
CDE social grades and gaining preference in
In-depth Data section at the end of the TV
Bucharest.
chapter .
TV MARKET OVERVIEW
TV ratings increased driven by top generalists and news
Last year, the TV market registered higher course, as people have been spending more
audience levels starting week 10 and managed time at home in front of their TV set, seeking
to top 2019 rating almost continuously, with for fresh information as well as safe at-home
higher impact during the lockdown. This, of entertainment.
Chart 2: 2019 – Q1 2021 TOTAL TV RATING WEEKLY DYNAMICS (Rtg %, All 18-54 urban)
28

areas. Kanal D and TVR 1 profiles had similar 45-54 y.o. continue to prefer TLC and Antena 26

evolutions to Antena 1. Stars. 24

22
20
18
16
14
12
10 wk 10
wk 11
wk 12
wk 13
wk 14
wk 15
wk 16
wk 17
wk 18
wk 19
wk 20
wk 21
wk 22
wk 23
wk 24
wk 25
wk 26
wk 27
wk 28
wk 29
wk 30
wk 31
wk 32
wk 33
wk 34
wk 35
wk 36
wk 37
wk 38
wk 39
wk 40
wk 41
wk 42
wk 43
wk 44
wk 45
wk 46
wk 47
wk 48
wk 49
wk 50
wk 51
wk 52
wk 1
wk 2
wk 3
wk 4
wk 5
wk 6
wk 7
wk 8
wk 9

Source: KANTAR MEDIA / ARMADATA database 2019 2020 2021

36 37
The top 3 channels reflected different In generalist channels, Antena 1 had the most
performance evolution in terms of ratings dynamic growth with +10% rating evolution
and audience share: Pro TV (Rtg. 4% & SOA and 1.1% increase in SOA, Kanal D increased
In news channels, Digi 24 registered the most As Live sports competitions were canceled, all
21.5% vs. rtg. 3.89% & SOA 21.5%), Antena 1 slightly with 0.3% in SOA and 7% in Rtg, while
spectacular trend, with an increase of 1.5% sports channels reflected a drop in performance
Pro TV reflected a 3% growth in Rating and the
Rtg. 2.86% & SOA 15.4% vs. Rtg. 2.59% & SOA evolution in SOA (3.6% vs. 2.1% in 2019) compared to their 2019 results.
same SOA level as in 2019.
14.3%) and Kanal D (Rtg. 1.7% & SOA 9.1% vs. and a 76% boost in Rating driven by their
professional approach to the new context and The number of monitored TV channels grew
1.6% Rtg. & SOA 8.8%).
high flexibility in adapting to the new reality to 76 in 2020, when new players such as HGTV,
Duck TV, Canal 33 and Aleph News were added
Chart 3: 2012-2020 TOP 3 TV CHANNELS YOY PERFORMANCE DYNAMICS (Rtg %, All 18-54 urban, All Day) which demanded 24/7 presence with breaking
news and relevant information. Other news to the reporting system, while TVH decided
25%
21% stations had moderate growths compared to the to exit and Agro TV was reported for a breif
20% period of time.
14%
previous year, for example, Antena 3 increased
15%
10% 10% average rating by 7% and SOA by 0.2% (3.7% vs.
10%
10% 8% 3.5% in 2019).
7% 6% 7%
5% 4% 4% 3% 3%
0%
1%
0%
2%
0% TV programming: local talent shows kept their lead, despite tough
-5% -4% -4% -4% -6% -5%-4%
production conditions
-6% -6%
-10% -8% -7% -9%
-7%
-9%
-11% -11% Talent shows and cooking programs continue to 1), and Asia Express. The first season of Masked
-15%
-20% 2013 vs 2012
be the most popular genres since 2016. Romanii Singer jumped directly in top 5 most watched
2014 vs 2013 2015 vs 2014 2016 vs 2015 2017 vs 2016 2018 vs 2017 2019 vs 2018 2020 vs 2019
au talent (Pro TV) remained the most viewed entertainment shows. iUmor had the best
Source: KANTAR MEDIA / ARMADATA database Total TV Rating Pro TV Antena 1 Kanal D talent show, followed by Chefi la cutite (Antena rating since 2016.

Top generalist channels are followed by a are: Digi Sport 1 (Rtg. 0.3%, Shr. 1.8%) at a
cluster of strong News stations: Antena 3, 4pp gap, Prima TV (Rtg. 0.3%, Shr. 1.7%), Diva Chart 5 2016-2020 TALENTS SHOW PERFORMANCE EVOLUTION (Rtg%, all 18-54, Urban)
ranked 4th (Rtg. 0.7%, Shr. 3.7%), Digi 24 (Rtg. 0.3%, Shr. 1.7%) and National TV (Rtg. 20.0

17.2
(Rtg. 0.7%, Shr. 3.6%) and Romania TV (Rtg. 0.3%, Shr. 1.5%). 18.0

16.1

15.7
0.7%, Shr 3.5%). Next in top 10 TV channels 16.0

14.2

14.1
14.0

10.9
12.0

10.4
10.2

10.2
10.0

8.9
9.1

9.0
8.8

8.6
8.6

8.6

8.3

8.2
8.0

7.9
7.5

7.2
8.0

7.1
7.0
6.9

6.4

6.6

6.2
6.5
5.9

5.9

5.9
5.7

5.7
5.6

5.5

5.4

5.4
6.0

5.3

5.3
5.1

5.0

4.9
4.8

4.9

4.6
3.9

3.3

3.2
4.0
Chart 4: 2019 - Q1 2021 TOP 10 TV CHANNELS MONTHLY DYNAMICS (Rtg %, All 18-54 urban, 06:00-26:00) 2.0
0.0
6.0 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Romanii au talent (PRO TV) X-Factor (Ant 1) Vocea Romaniei (PRO TV) Te cunosc de undeva (Ant 1) Next Star (Ant 1)
iUmor (Ant 1) Poftiti pe la noi (Ant 1) Chefi la cutite (Ant 1) Asia Express (Ant 1) Exatlon (Kanal D)
5.0 Show si-asa! (Ant 1) Sef sub acoperire (PRO TV) Canta acum cu mine (PRO TV) Masked Singer Romania (PRO TV) Falsez pentru tine (PRO TV)
Pro TV

Antena 1 Source: KANTAR MEDIA / ARMADATA database

4.0
Kanal D

Antena 3
3.0 Despite the difficulties imposed by the productions Chefi la cutite (Rtg. 10.4%), Asia
Digi 24

Romania TV restrictions, the main TV channels continued Express (Rtg. 10.2%), iUmor (Rtg. 6.8%) and
2.0 DigiSport 1 their programming strategy with local Te cunosc de undeva (Rtg. 7.1%). On the other
Prima TV productions. Pro TV maintained leadership hand, in 2020, Kanal D’s program grid was
1.0
Diva with most shows in top: Romanii au talent dominated by Turkish productions such as
0.0
National TV
(Rtg 14.1%), Las fierbinti (Rtg. 11.7%), Visuri Ma numesc Zuleyha (Rtg. 5.3%), Gulperi (Rtg.
la cheie (Rtg. 8.1%), and adding two new 4.9%) and Nemilosul Istanbul (Rtg. 4.8%). In
May-19

May-20
Feb-19
Mar-19

Feb-20
Mar-20

Feb-21
Mar-21
Jan-19

Jun-19

Jan-20

Jun-20

Jan-21
Aug-19
Sep-19

Nov-19
Dec-19

Aug-20
Sep-20

Nov-20
Dec-20
Jul-19

Jul-20
Apr-19

Oct-19

Apr-20

Oct-20

productions, Imperiul leilor (Rtg. 8.6%) and 2020 Kanal D had lower performance with
Source: KANTAR MEDIA / ARMADATA database Masked Singer (Rtg. 7.2%). Antena 1 cotinued Survivor (Rtg. 4.3%).
to be a strong challenger, airing its well-known

38 39
TV sold inventory: flat vs. 2019, after a strong decrease in Q2 and Chart 8: 2019 – Q1 2021 SOLD GRP30”(‘000) BY MONTH
Sold GRP30" All 18-54, urban
unprecedented sold-out in Summer and Autumn 250
229 233 225
202 210 204 209 204 206
200 187 192 186 180 191 193
Despite all the challenges the TV market The TV average CPM reached in 2020 at 2.73 172 168 161 170 174 170 170 174
159 157
faced in 2020, all the efforts that broadcasters, euro on the 18-54 urban target vs. 2.66 euro in 150 144
135
agencies and clients took throughout the 2019 (+3%) and 3.41 euro on 18-49 urban target
100
year, paid off in the end in terms of revenues: vs. 3.36 euro in 2020 (+2%). On national target,
302M euro vs. 308M euro in 2019 (-2%). average CPM is 0.56 euro and 1.08 euro on 50
urban target (2% drop).
0

May-19

May-20
Aug-19

Sep-19

Nov-19

Dec-19

Aug-20

Sep-20

Nov-20

Dec-20
Feb-19

Mar-19

Feb-20

Mar-20

Feb-21

Mar-21
Jan-19

Jun-19

Jan-20

Jun-20

Jan-21
Apr-19

Oct-19

Apr-20

Oct-20
Jul-19

Jul-20
Chart 6: TV SOLD INVENTORY TREND
Q1 2019 Q2 2019 Q3 2019 Q4 2019 Q1 2020 Q2 2020 Q3 2020 Q4 2020 Q1 2021
Year 2018 2019 2020
Source: KANTAR MEDIA / ARMADATA database

All 18-54 Urban sold GRP30" (000) 2,282 2,179 2,190

Sold Inventory % minutes (All Day) 88% 88% 83% Overall, 2020 ended with an increase of 1% in From the top generalist channels, Antena 1 had
Source: KANTAR MEDIA / ARMADATA database & Initiative's estimates
GRPs30L sold with a total of 2.2M GRP30 the highest growth in GRP30: 8% and SOV
Note: Only Paid advertising included 18-54 urban. 29% of the exposure was sold +1% (share of voice). From the News cluster,
by CME, 24% by Intact and 11% by Dogan, Digi24 reflected a significant increase of 61% in
comparable with 2019. sold GRP30 and SOV +1%.

In 2020, the sold Inventory was dramatically out situation and huge inflations especially in
affected in Q2 when a lot of advertisers stopped airtime quality parameters. The 2020 average
their activity, not knowing what to expect, still, yearly loading level in ad break was around 83% Chart 9: 2019-2020 TV TRUSTS: ADS REVENUES SHARE VS. SOLD GRP30” SHARE
a demand increase appeared in summer and for All Day and 93% in Prime Time. Inner: Sold GRP30" Share (18-54 Urban)
autumn, leading to an unprecedented sold 12% Outter: Net Ads Revenue Share 11%

5% 5%
CME
18% 17%
30% 41% Antena Group 39%
9% 9% 29%
Chart 7: 2019 – Q1 2021 AVERAGE SOLD INVENTORY BY MONTH ( % Min) VS. LEGAL LIMIT 6% Dogan Media 6%
All Day (06:00-24:00) Average Prime Time (18:00-24:00) Average
120% 13% Thematics 13%
110% 10%
23% Digi Group 10%
100% 11% 11% 24%
90% Others
80%
70%
24% 26%
60% Source: KANTAR MEDIA / ARMADATA database & Initiative's estimates
50%
40%
30%
20%
WHAT TO EXPECT IN 2021? 2020, which was a year of disruption in the
continuous historical rating downtrend of 5%-
May-19

May-20
Aug-19

Sep-19

Nov-19

Dec-19

Aug-20

Sep-20

Nov-20

Dec-20
Feb-19

Mar-19

Feb-20

Mar-20

Feb-21

Mar-21
Jan-19

Jun-19

Jan-20

Jun-20

Jan-21
Apr-19

Oct-19

Apr-20

Oct-20
Jul-19

Jul-20

6% year on year.
Source: KANTAR MEDIA / ARMADATA database & Initiative's estimates As the sanitary restrictions are gradually
Note: Barters not included dropping, Total TV viewing is expected to In Jan-May 2021, the Total TV rating has
maintain a descending trend compared to already decreased by 7% vs. the same period

40 41
 IN-DEPTH DATA - TV AUDIENCE PROFILES IN DETAIL
of 2020. Although Kanal D may be out of this ABCD National (+ guests) in place now on
pattern with an outstanding performance Pro TV, and Antena 1 shifting from All 18-49 Antena 1 Profile (Affinity Index) 2019 2020 Pro TV Profile (Affinity Index)
registered in Jan-May 2021 thanks to Survivor Urban (+ guests) to All 18-54 Urban (+ guests) Men Men
(+22% rating vs. same period in 2020), other Bucharest 250 Women Bucharest 250 Women
top stations have already registered lower The spring programming grids show a very Urban 200k+ 200 Social Urban 200k+ 200 Social
ratings, Pro TV (-10%) and Antena 1 (-7%), all good start for local productions: Pro TV grade AB grade AB
150 150
performed well with Las fierbinti (Rtg. Urban Social Urban Social
the other channels also showing significant 100 grade C
100k - 200k 100k - 200k 100 grade C
decrease. 11.3%), Romanii au talent (Rtg. 10.9%), Sef
sub acoperire (Rtg. 8.4%) and Imperiul leilor Urban 50 Social 50 Social
Urban
30k-100k grade DE 30k-100k grade DE
Still, comparing the market evolution with (Rtg. 8.0%). Antena 1 launched a new season of 0 0
a usual period such as Jan-May 2019, the Chefi la cutite (Rtg. 8.5%), iUmor (Rtg. 6.9%), Urban 30k Age 4 - 11 Urban 30k Age 4 - 11
Total TV rating decreased only by 3% in 2021. Te cunosc de undeva (Rtg. 6.4%) and also
Antena 1 and Kanal D are increasing by 2% launching Adela (Rtg. 5.5%), a local TV series. Age 65+ Age 12 - 17 Age 65+ Age 12 - 17
and 37%, respectively, while Pro TV maintains Kanal D consolidates a high audience with its
Age 55 - 64 Age 18 - 24 Age 55 - 64 Age 18 - 24
the 10% decrease even compared to 2019. In show Survivor (Rtg. 8.3%), while also achieving
the news cluster, Digi 24 has a 60% growth vs. good performance with Roata norocului Age 45 - 54 Age 25 - 34 Age 45 - 54 Age 25 - 34
Age 35 - 44 Age 35 - 44
2019, compared to a 30% decrease versus 2020. (Rtg. 5.4), the Turkish series Prizoniera Source: Kantar Media Source: Kantar Media
In terms of sold GRP30 so far (Jan – Apr), 2021 destinului (Rtg. 4.6%) and Hercai (Rtg. 4.4%). Prima TV Profile (Affinity Index)
is the best year in a long while: 16% increase Kanal D Profile (Affinity Index) Men
Men
vs. 2020 (Apr 2020 decreased by 23% vs. 2019), In the second half of 2021 Pro TV will continue Bucharest 250 Women Bucharest 250 Women

13% vs.2019, 7% vs. 2018. For Pro TV, Antena 1 with Las fierbinti, Visuri la cheie, a new season Urban 200k+ 200 Social Urban 200k+ 200 Social
of Masked Singer and is expected to launch a grade AB grade AB
and Kanal D there are respectively 10%, 19%, 150
150
new production called Superstar. Keeping a Social Urban Social
44% more GRP30 vs. 2020, 13%, 21%, 40% Urban
100k - 200k 100 grade C
100k - 200k 100 grade C
more GRP30 vs. 2019, and +5%, +15%, +13% highly competitive rhythm, Antena 1 will bring
Urban 50 Social
vs. 2018. For the rest of the year, we expect a new seasons of Asia Express, iUmor, X Factor Urban 50 Social
grade DE 30k-100k grade DE
and will launch a new show called Stand-Up 30k-100k 0 0
decline in GRP30 due to lower ratings which
will lead the market into a similar or lower sold Revolution. Kanal D will continue airing Urban 30k Age 4 - 11 Urban 30k Age 4 - 11

inventory decrease for the entire year. Turkish series, the local show Roata norocului
and a new season of Bravo, ai stil!. Age 65+ Age 12 - 17 Age 65+ Age 12 - 17
Regarding the loading of 12 minutes per break,
From May 10, Antena 3 released a new live Age 55 - 64 Age 18 - 24 Age 55 - 64 Age 18 - 24
Q1 2021 revealed the highest level for the last
years starting in January with a 75% loading program called News Hour in collaboration Age 45 - 54 Age 25 - 34 Age 45 - 54 Age 25 - 34
Age 35 - 44
vs. 71% in 2019 and 70% in 2020. February and with CNN, the world biggest news network, Source: Kantar Media
Age 35 - 44
Source: Kantar Media
March were loaded at 89% and respectively which will be aired from Monday to Friday,
starting 06:00 PM. TVR1 Profile (Affinity Index) National TV Profile (Affinity Index)
92% all day and 98% and respectively 100% in Men Men
prime time versus 82%, 85% in February and Bucharest 250 Women Bucharest 250 Women
Sports competitions resumed this year, and a
March 2019, and 86%, 80% in 2020 all day. Q2 Urban 200k+ 200 Social Urban 200k+ 200 Social
significant budget investment are expected at grade AB
2020 started with a loading in April similar to grade AB
EURO 2021 and The Olympic Games, which 150 150
Social Urban Social
2019 (92% loading vs. 91%), while in May the Urban
were postponed from 2020. 100k - 200k 100 grade C 100k - 200k 100 grade C
loading is slightly decreasing, nevertheless
50 Social Urban 50 Social
we foresee sold out during summer and the By the end of 2021 we estimate a revenues Urban
grade DE
30k-100k grade DE 30k-100k 0
beginning of autumn. revival at 329M euro (+9% vs. 2020), with 0
Urban 30k Age 4 - 11 Urban 30k Age 4 - 11
double digits buying CPP inflation in a TV
An important shift in 2021 TV channels’ sales
landscape marked by a decline in ratings
policy is the usage of more mature buying Age 65+ Age 12 - 17 Age 65+ Age 12 - 17
and sold inventory for the summer and the
targets definitions, to better monetize their
beginning of autumn. Age 55 - 64 Age 18 - 24
advertising airtime, the most notable ones Age 55 - 64 Age 18 - 24
being All 21-54 Urban (+ guests) and All 21-54 Age 45 - 54 Age 25 - 34 Age 45 - 54 Age 25 - 34
Age 35 - 44 Age 35 - 44
Source: Kantar Media Source: Kantar Media

42 43
 2019 2020 2019 2020

B1 TV Profile (Affinity Index) Diva Profile (Affinity Index) Pro 2 Profile (Affinity Index)
Realitatea Plus Profile (Affinity Index)
Men Men Men
Men Bucharest 250 Women Bucharest 250 Women
Bucharest 300 Women
Bucharest 300 Women
Urban 200k+ 250 Social Urban 200k+ 200 Social Urban 200k+ 200 Social
Urban 200k+ 250 Social
200 grade AB grade AB grade AB
200 grade AB 150 150
Urban 150 Social Urban Social Urban Social
Urban 150 Social
100k - 200k grade C 100k - 200k 100 grade C 100k - 200k 100 grade C
100 100k - 200k grade C
100
Urban 50 Social Urban 50 Social Urban 50 Social
Urban 50 Social
30k-100k grade DE 30k-100k grade DE 30k-100k grade DE
0 30k-100k grade DE 0 0
0
Urban 30k Age 4 - 11 Urban 30k Age 4 - 11 Urban 30k Age 4 - 11
Urban 30k Age 4 - 11

Age 65+ Age 12 - 17 Age 65+ Age 12 - 17 Age 65+ Age 12 - 17

Age 65+ Age 12 - 17

Age 55 - 64 Age 18 - 24
Age 55 - 64 Age 18 - 24 Age 55 - 64 Age 18 - 24 Age 55 - 64 Age 18 - 24
Age 45 - 54 Age 25 - 34
Age 45 - 54 Age 25 - 34 Age 45 - 54 Age 25 - 34 Age 45 - 54 Age 25 - 34
Age 35 - 44
Source: Kantar Media Source: Kantar Media Age 35 - 44 Age 35 - 44 Age 35 - 44
Source: Kantar Media Source: Kantar Media
Antena 3 Profile (Affinity Index)
Men Happy Channel Profile (Affinity Index)
300 Men
TLC Profile (Affinity Index)
Bucharest Women
Bucharest 250 Women Men
Urban 200k+ 250 Social Bucharest 250 Women
200 grade AB Urban 200k+ 200 Social
Social grade AB Urban 200k+ 200 Social
Urban 150 150
grade C Social grade AB
100k - 200k 100 Urban 150
100k - 200k 100 grade C Urban Social
Urban 50 Social 100 grade C
100k - 200k
30k-100k grade DE 50 Social
0 Urban
grade DE Urban 50 Social
30k-100k 0
Urban 30k Age 4 - 11 30k-100k grade DE
0
Urban 30k Age 4 - 11
Urban 30k Age 4 - 11
Age 65+ Age 12 - 17
Age 65+ Age 12 - 17
Age 55 - 64 Age 18 - 24 Age 65+ Age 12 - 17

Source: Kantar Media Age 45 - 54 Age 25 - 34 Age 55 - 64 Age 18 - 24

Age 35 - 44 Age 55 - 64 Age 18 - 24
Age 45 - 54 Age 25 - 34
Age 35 - 44 Age 45 - 54 Age 25 - 34
Romania TV Profile (Affinity Index) Source: Kantar Media Source: Kantar Media Age 35 - 44
Digi 24 Profile (Affinity Index)
Men
300 Men
Bucharest Women 300
250
Bucharest Women Antena Stars Profile (Affinity Index) TV Paprika Profile (Affinity Index)
Urban 200k+ Social 250
Urban 200k+ Social Men Men
200 grade AB
200 grade AB Bucharest 250 Women Bucharest 250 Women
Urban 150 Social
Urban 150 Social Urban 200k+ 200 Social Urban 200k+ 200 Social
100k - 200k grade C
100 100k - 200k grade C grade AB grade AB
100 150
Urban 50 Social 150
Urban 50 Social Urban Social Urban Social
30k-100k grade DE
0 30k-100k grade DE 100k - 200k 100 grade C 100k - 200k 100 grade C
0
Urban 30k Age 4 - 11 50 Social 50 Social
Urban 30k Age 4 - 11 Urban Urban
30k-100k grade DE 30k-100k grade DE
0 0
Age 65+ Age 12 - 17
Age 65+ Age 12 - 17 Urban 30k Age 4 - 11 Urban 30k Age 4 - 11
Age 55 - 64 Age 18 - 24
Age 55 - 64 Age 18 - 24
Age 45 - 54 Age 25 - 34 Age 65+ Age 12 - 17 Age 65+ Age 12 - 17
Age 45 - 54 Age 25 - 34
Age 35 - 44
Source: Kantar Media Source: Kantar Media Age 35 - 44
Age 55 - 64 Age 18 - 24 Age 55 - 64 Age 18 - 24
Age 45 - 54 Age 25 - 34 Age 45 - 54 Age 25 - 34
Source: Kantar Media Age 35 - 44 Source: Kantar Media Age 35 - 44

44 45
 2019 2020

AXN Profile (Affinity Index) Pro Cinema Profile (Affinity Index)

DIGITAL
Men Men
200 Bucharest 250 Women
Bucharest Women
Urban 200k+ Social Urban 200k+ 200 Social
150 grade AB
grade AB
150
Social Urban Social
Urban 100
grade C 100k - 200k 100 grade C

MEDIA
100k - 200k
50 50 Social
Urban Social Urban
grade DE 30k-100k grade DE
30k-100k 0 0

Urban 30k Age 4 - 11 Urban 30k Age 4 - 11

Age 65+ Age 12 - 17 Age 65+ Age 12 - 17

Age 55 - 64 Age 18 - 24 Age 55 - 64 Age 18 - 24

Age 45 - 54 Age 25 - 34 Age 45 - 54 Age 25 - 34

Age 35 - 44 Age 35 - 44
Source: Kantar Media Source: Kantar Media

Film Cafe Profile (Affinity Index)

Men
Bucharest 250 Women
Urban 200k+ 200 Social
grade AB
150
Urban Social
100k - 200k 100 grade C

Urban 50 Social
30k-100k grade DE
0
Urban 30k Age 4 - 11

Age 65+ Age 12 - 17

Age 55 - 64 Age 18 - 24
Age 45 - 54 Age 25 - 34
Age 35 - 44

Source: Kantar Media

46 47
DIGITAL
MEDIA
e-commerce
One of the most impactful ways in which
the 2020 pandemic has shifted our lifestyle
paradigm was the restriction of free movement.
And this has led to one particular pillar of
the retail sector growing exponentially: the
eCommerce.
Romanian eComm has been vividly growing
in previous years, but the special situation
that appeared last March has proven to be
a real bless for e-stores. The estimation for
2020 exceeded the initial forecast by approx.
500M euro: a total of 5.6B euro and an increase
of +30% versus 2019, according to the
Association of Romanian Online Stores (this
6 5.6
5 80%
4 3.6
3 2.8
2 29%
2 40%
1 20%
0 0%
2016 2017 2018
B eur
Source: GPeC Romanian E-Commerce Report, Evolution of eComm market
48
estimation considers only tangible products
that were bought online, and not the services
acquired or paid for online). For comparison,
in 2019 the Romanian eComm had recorded
a growth of 19% versus previous year – with
fashion products accounting for the biggest
revenue share, followed by electronics and
media. When looking at the regional context,
we can see that Romania is one of the EU
countries with the highest online commerce
growth rate, but it is yet to reach a level of
market maturity similar to that of more
developed countries.
100%
4.3
30%
19%
2019 2020
YoY
Some of the most important players that
made this growth possible were delivery
services, which managed to adapt quickly to
an unprecedented demand. Glovo, one of the
biggest players, came to have more couriers on
the streets than the largest cable company has
employees, and recorded in 2020 a value traded
through the platform of 150M euro (+400%
compared to 2019). On the other end of the top,
HoReCa and Travel verticals were among those
hardest hit by the 2020’s pandemic reality.
According to two iSense studies done in May
and October 2020 on the 18-60 age segment, the
most used delivery platforms were: FoodPanda,
with 32% of respondents declaring they use
it most often (tried by 56% of respondents),
Catering/Food delivery
FMCG
Pet food
Cosmetics
Gifts, flowers
Home appliances and electronics
Pharmaceutical products
Clothing, footwear
Books, magazines 6%
Computers, softwear accessories 5%
0% 10%
Statista data 2020, Q: What products have you purchased through online platforms or delivery apps?
90% At European level, the most popular categories
of products and services sold online last year
70%
60% were, according to Eurostat, fashion (64%),
50% food deliveries (29%) and furniture / home
40%
30% accessories (28%).
10% Since products with a higher price tag are
more likely to be purchased on desktop for
practical reasons (easiness of reading product
details or comparing with other products
Glovo: 28% (tried by 60% of respondents),
Takeaway: 13% (tried by 33% of respondents),
Bringo: 13% (tried by 26% of respondents)
and TAZZ by eMAG: 3% (tried by 7% of
respondents).
As for eMAG Marketplace, the top categories
in terms of sales volumes generated were, in
descending order: Home Appliances, Home &
Deco, DIY (Do It Yourself), Mobile and IT.
A very important clue of e-comm’s huge
potential in short/medium term is that people
bought more than fast food or prepared food,
respectively consumer goods, medicines from
pharmacies or sports equipment, and these past
barriers will certainly be maintained at least in
part after the pandemic.
72%
27%
12%
11%
10%
9%
9%
8%
20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Share of respondents
in category, bigger pictures etc.), such as
IT&C & Electronics or Home & Garden, the
average cost per transaction is also higher on
this device: 297.4 RON in 2020 (61.5 EUR),
increasing from 273 RON (~57.5 EUR) in
2019. For transactions done on mobile devices
the average order value was 210.4 RON (~43.5
EUR) in 2020, up from 208 RON (~43.9 EUR)
in 2019.
49
The internet is – and will remain – a key purchase products online. Even more, 35.9% of
touchpoint in the path to purchase, all the way
from branding to sales, for both e-stores and
product brands. As GWI data shows, 89.3% of
consumers who are online also post reviews of
products/services they used, thus influencing
non-buyers who search online for opinions
85% OF ROMANIAN POPULATION
IS NOW ONLINE.
THE GROWTH WAS DRIVEN BY:
online people in Romania use search engines regarding the products they are interested in.
to find more information about products or
services they want to buy, 83.7% visit online eComm will surely continue to grow in 2021,
retail stores, 57.7% use price comparison most likely exceeding the 6.5B euro threshold Older generation (55+) 55% 2019 2020 63%
services and no less than 75.6% actually by the end of this year.
Lower education level 56% 2019 2020 63%

Rural area 72% 2019 2020 77%

INTERNATIONAL STATS
As we move beyond the negative socio-
economic impact of COVID-19 pandemic,
now we can look at 2020 as a digital expansion
coming to the aid of elevating technology’s
mediating role, whose consequences are likely
to be long-lasting and transformative in so
many ways.
From shopping and WFH to medical
appointments and home workouts, more
and more aspects of people’s daily social and
professional lives moved to the virtual world
which was supposed to replace a broken
physical one.
Kepios analysis reveals that more than 6 in 10
people around the world are now online, with
over 4.72 B people using the internet in Q3
2021. The latest reports indicate that internet
users have grown by 332 M over the past year,
which leads to a YoY increase of 7.6%. These
users spend an average of almost 7h a day using
the internet.
Regions with a penetration rate of more
than 90% remain North-western Europe and
Northern America, while 24% of Eastern Africa
are currently unconnected.
There are almost 5.3 B unique mobile
users, which translates to 67% of the world’s Smart TVs were the 3rd most used
population owning a smartphone and almost devices for accessing the internet,
93% of mobile internet users considering the
total internet population.
instead of tablets
(% of Romanian online population)
The rapid digital adoption driven by the
pandemic context also reflects the social media
adoption which is still seeing rapid acceleration.
91%
More than half of the world now uses social
41%
media (55%, with a 14% increase compared to
Q3 2020), where active users spend on average
84%
2h 20m.
Facebook and YouTube attract the world’s smartphones pc/laptop Smart Tv
largest active user bases, while WhatsApp is the
most popular, leading the top of social media
and messaging platforms worldwide (excluding New habits in 2020:
China). Also, TikTok was the most downloaded (% of Romanian online population)
non-gaming app worldwide in Q1 2021.
Watching online videos (93% – including shows
or movies), listening to online music streaming
services (64%) and watching vlogs (52%) are
the most popular content activities worldwide.
Interestingly enough, roughly 1 in 7 internet 37% 30% 24% 24% 23%
users visit vlogs when looking for information
used QR codes listened to used used used
about brands. podcasts voice search smartwatches online payment
services

TOTAL 105 M eComm Market 5.6 B

DIGITAL
ADSPENT euro
(+6% VS. 2019) Estimation for 2020: euro
(+30% VS. 2019)

50 51
EVOLUTION OF DIGITAL IN ROMANIA An increase in internet usage due to the
coronavirus outbreak was seen across all
At the same time, the educational differences
in internet users are also starting to fade out:
generations – almost all people aged 16-34 stand while almost all College graduates (nearly
out for their technology use (96%), while older 100%) remain active internet users, we see
INTERNET PENETRATION generations also embraced digital life, reflecting an increase of 6% for those with secondary
the largest percentage increases compared to education (89% in 2020 vs. 84% ​​in 2019) and up
The way that the 2020 pandemic has shaken now online, in Romania we have reached 85% 2019: up to 92% of people aged 35-54 (which to 12.5% ​​for those with lower education (63% in
us by changing the way we relate to health via of population in 2020, according to Eurostat leads to an increase of 4.5% compared to last 2020 from 56% in 2019).
sanitary considerations is merely the top of data. year) and 63% of people aged 55+ (which is the
the iceberg. Underneath, the imposed physical most significant growth among all age groups:
distancing has in fact switched our whole Also, data published by the National Statistics 14.5%).
lifestyle paradigm: many activities that were Institute reflects that over three quarters of the Internet usage in Urban vs. Rural
100%
difficult or even impossible to do in real life households in Romania had access to internet 90% 86% 86%
90%
76% 80% 77%
have found an outlet in the virtual world, and in 2020, which means an increase of 2.5 pp 80%
70% 66%
72%
57%
a good part of these solutions, initially thought compared to the previous year. Internet usage by age groups 60% 53%
50%
to be temporary, are here to stay. Most of us are 120%
40%
30%
20%
94% 95% 96%
100% 89% 92% 92% 10%
85% 88% 0%
77%
80% 72% Urban Rural
63%
55%
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
60% 51%
Source: INS | All 16-74 National, last 12 months
38%
34%
40%
Daily internet users during
the three months preceding 20%
the survey, 2019
(% of people aged 16-74 y.o,
0%
16-34 y.o. 35-54 y.o. 55-74 y.o. Internet usage is also increasing for both
by NUTS 2 regions) 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 urban (by 5%, reaching 90% in 2020) and rural
Source: INS | All 16-74 National, last 12 months areas (by 7%, reaching 77%), with a fast-paced
EU-27 = 77 evolution considering previous years for those
< 60
living outside the cities.
60 - < 70
70 - < 80 Internet usage by education level There is a sustained YoY growth in terms of
100% 97% 99% 99% 99%
80 - < 90 90%
89% regions: the highest internet penetration rate
82% 84%
80% 74% remains in Bucharest-Ilfov (now 89%), and the
≥ 90 70% 63%
60% 51%
56% lowest values in
​​ are still registered in South-
Data not available 50%
40%
43% East (72%, with a slight increase of 2%).
30%
20%
10%
Also, households with three or more people
0%
Low Medium High
(97% in 2020) and households led by an
2017 2018 2019 2020 employee, where children are also present
Source: INS | All 16-74 National, last 12 months (99% in 2020) attain higher levels of internet
INTERNET PENETRATION IN ROMANIA penetration.
100%
90% 85%
77% 80%
80% 70%
70% 62% 66%
55% 59%
60% 50%
50% 40% 44%
40% 37%
30%
20%
10%
0%
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Source: Eurostat

52 53
INTERNET CONNECTIONS More online people in Romania accessed the BRAND DISCOVERY
internet via smartphone (91%) than desktop/
laptop (84%), while smart TVs are on a positive
Internet connections by type (m) trend to becoming mainstream for this activity
30.0
(41% vs. 32% in Q1 2019). Top 10 brand discovery touchpoints
19.3 19.9 19.5
25.0 Ads on television 41%
16.6
20.0 14.8 Baby boomers are the only generation that
12.0
13.2 Search engines 36%
9.6
still uses more desktop/laptop (92%) than
15.0
7.1 smartphone (83%). Direct mail or email 31%
10.0 Ads seen
2.5 3.5
4.6 4.9 5.3 5.5 on social media 28%
3.8 4.0 4.1 4.3
5.0 3.4 There is also a bigger preference for tablets, Word-of-mouth
recommendations 28%
0.0 2.9 3.1 especially from Gen X and Baby Boomers,
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 while younger generations are most interested Ads seen on websites 27%
Source: ANCOM Broadband fixed Mobile
in having smart technology in their home. TV shows or films 26%
Product brochures 25%
According to ANCOM, the number of 1% in urban). At the same time, 76% of total or catalogues
Brand or product 24%
broadband fixed connections reached 5.5M in broadband connections allows high speed websites
mid-2020 (of which 66% are in urban areas), internet traffic (at least 100 Mbps). ADOPTION OF DIGITAL Ads seen on
public transport 24%
with an accelerated evolution in the first half of INNOVATIONS
From the same report, data shows that the Source: GWI, 2020 | Online population
2020, as a result of the global health crisis (up
number of mobile internet connections reached The limitations of 2020 led to the use of
to 33%).
19.5M in mid-2020 (with a decrease of 2%, smartphones for features not so popular until
compared to H1 2019), amid a 9% decrease in recently: 37% of people aged 16 to 64 got to TV remains a key channel for brand discovery
The gap between urban and rural areas in
prepaid cards. The number of 4G connections use or scan QR codes at least monthly and 23% across all age groups (41%), while search
terms of fixed broadband penetration rate has
has thus stand at 12M, which means 62% of the used a mobile payment service (while only 3% engines lead among online ads as the primary
decreased significantly in the pandemic context,
total number of mobile internet connections. of people currently have an electronic wallet). digital touchpoint, where users find out about
with a much higher growth rate registered by
new brands and products (36%).
connections in rural areas (8% compared to
Also, thanks to Internet of Things (IoT) devices,
voice assistants and high-speed networking, In a top within half positions consist of digital
smart homes are beginning to become handy touchpoints, sources like word-of-mouth,
alternatives: 24% of people used voice search in product placement within shows or Out-of-
POPULAR DEVICES USED WHEN ACCESSING THE INTERNET the last month (from any device). At the same Home ads are helping brands to tell their story.
time, smart home devices can be found in 8%
Devices used to access the internet However, the impact of these touchpoints varies
of the Romanian households (people spend
across generations: older audiences are much
100% the largest amount on smart home appliances,
94% 94% 92% more focused on TV, while younger audiences
89% 87% followed by smart home entertainment devices
90%
83% 84% are more oriented towards digital channels:
79% and control & connectivity devices).
80% social media ads (32%), mobile ads (24%)
There are now three times more people using
70%
and vlogs (22%) are just some of the sources
smartwatches than they did in 2019 (24% vs.
with much higher values than for the other
60% 8%) and more VR devices users (3% in 2020).
generations.
50%
42%43% We know that videogames also became more
39% 38% Letting the product do the talking through
40% 36% 35%
than a lockdown distraction, so innovative
30% 27% samples or trials is also a powerful way for
21%
devices have been introduced as game-changers
reaching older consumers (over 24% for Gen
20% to offer an improved version of simple user
9%10% Xers and Boomers).
10% 6% 7% 7% 5% experience – there are 2% of people who play
1% 2%
0%
video games using VR headsets, while 3% use
Smartphone Desktop or laptop Tablet device Smart TV Games console Smart home device handheld gaming devices.
Source: GWI, Online Population, 2020 Gen Z Millenials Gen X Baby Boomers

54 55
ONLINE PRIVACY Uncertainty and controversy around the Behaviors have been changing during the (Mar‑Apr’20), Coronavirus was searched for
COVID-19 pandemic seems to have intensified crisis, especially when everyone was stuck at >30x compared to other previous diseases
Almost a third the online population have used concerns about misinformation – when asked, home because of coronavirus. These shifts are (Swine Flu pandemic, Ebola Virus MERS or
an ad-blocker in 2020 (34.3%). Frustration with 58% of internet users express their concern evident when analyzing what everyone has been even Flu).
ads is similar for all generations – consumers about what is real or fake on the internet. searching for on Google – most categories had
mainly block ads because they are too many two peaks: one during quarantine and another During the quarantine, Romanians searched
(26%) or irrelevant (16%) rather than because Other recent events (from the Cambridge during the shopping season (in both cases, the for online solutions, with search queries
they’re concerned about battery conservation Analytica scandal, Zoom security issues to maximum levels exceeded those of 2019). increasing by 21% in 2020 (with a major jump
(12%) or to protect their privacy (9%). an impressive list of Romanian companies in April 2020): the largest increases indicate
that were sanctioned in the first half 2021 for Compared to 2019, there was a faster increase growing needs for services, information,
As previous data said, there is a significant personal data breaches) have been growing in the retail categories (with sustained growth entertainment and shopping.
proportion of people discovering brands via awareness on data protection rights: 52% of throughout the year, improving its share
online ads, so these ad-blocking usage data only people deleted cookies from a web browser in retail sales, especially for: clothing and Among hobbies, the following stood out:
makes it clearer that people are not blocking in the past month and 30% are worried when footwear, electronics and games). Almost as movies, technology, cooking and fashion.
access to all ads, but rather want to filter out the thinking about how companies use their many healthcare-related queries followed:
Romania ranks in top 10 countries which, in
irrelevant ones and this is why precise targeting personal data. Google data reports show that during its peak
terms of searches, showed great interest for
and copy creativity are more important than
topics like: unemployment, vaccine and masks.
ever.
VIDEO CONSUMPTION
online consumers 16-34 Y.O. 35-54 Y.O. 55-74 Y.O.
CONSUMER INTERESTS TRENDS 100% 100% 100%
90% 90% 90%
80% 80% 80%

Top Google Search Queries Top Google SHOPPING Search Queries 70% 70% 70%
60% 60% 60%
# Search Query Index # Search Query Index # Search Query Index # Search Query Index
11 GOOGLE TRANSLATE 45 50% 50% 50%
1 GOOGLE 100 1 EMAG 100 11 JORDAN 1 11
2 VREMEA 98 12 YAHOO MAIL 41 2 SAMSUNG 60 12 PS4 11 40% 40% 40%
3 FACEBOOK 89 13 EMAG 38 3 NEXT 60 13 NORIEL 11 30% 30% 30%
4 TRANSLATE 80 14 ȘTIRI 38 4 HUAWEI 31 14 VANS 9 20% 20% 20%
5 METEO 74 15 CORONAVIRUS 33 5 ADIDASI 31 15 ADIDASI NIKE 9 10% 10% 10%
6 YOUTUBE 56 16 DEDEMAN 26 6 ADIDAS 30 16 BICICLETE 7
0% 0% 0%
7 YAHOO 51 17 COVID 22 7 JORDAN 26 17 NIKE AIR FORCE 1 7 TV TV You Tube You Tube VOD VOD TV TV You Tube You Tube VOD VOD TV TV You Tube You Tube VOD VOD
(weekday) (weekend) (weekday) (weekend) (weekday) (weekend) (weekday) (weekend) (weekday) (weekend) (weekday) (weekend) (weekday) (weekend) (weekday) (weekend) (weekday) (weekend)
8 FILME 49 18 TRADUCERE 21 8 ALTEX 19 18 TELEFOANE SAMSUNG 7
9 MAIL 49 19 CLASSROOM 20 9 SINSAY 18 19 NIKE JORDAN 5 < 1h 1-3h 3h+ < 1h 1-3h 3h+ < 1h 1-3h 3h+
10 OLX 47 20 ALTEX 19 10 LAPTOP 17 20 TRANSLATE 5
Source: FOCUS CAPI IUN20-OCT20, 14-74 ani, National Weighted sample | Online Population
Popular searches Smartphones Movies
1 Google Classroom 1 iPhone 12 1 365 dni
2 Coronavirus Romania 2 iPhone 11 2 Miami Bici
3 Adservio 3 iPhone 12 Pro Max 3 Contagion
4 Alegeri SUA 4 Samsung S20 4 Miracolul din celula 7 With 12M monthly users and TV screens There has also been more time spent watching
5 About You 5 iPhone 11 Pro 5 After we collided watchtime growing with 95% YoY, YouTube YouTube for 35+, especially on weekends.
how to... What is... when... achieved a strong reach across all age groups,
1 Cum se poartă masca 1 Ce este coronavirus 1 Când începe școala strongest in the young and middle age audience. There is also a substantial increase in Video on
2 Cum să dormi 8 ore în 4 ore 2 Ce este Horeca 2 Când se schimbă ora în 2020 Demand (VoD) usage as all of these people have
3 Cum se manifestă coronavirus 3 Ce este fugu 3 Când începe școala în ianuarie 2020 According to Google data, YouTube saw an
4 Cum se fce maiaua 4 Ce este pandemia 4 Când este Black Friday 2020 overall reach of 63% in 2020 for age 18+. been seeking entertainment while complying
5 Cum se poartă masca 5 Ce este șomajul tehnic 5 Când se deschid casele de pariuri
with lockdown restrictions – 42% of 16-34 are
sports events Diets Recipes Compared to 2019, recent data has resulted in now users of VoD services vs. 23% in 2019.
1 Roland Garros 1 Dieta Sirtfood 1 Rețetă gogoși
2 Australia Open 2 Dieta mediteraneană 2 Rețetă banana bread
increases for YouTube consumption in contrast The increases are also observed among older
3 România - Islanda 3 Dieta Oana Radu 3 Rețetă pâine to TV consumption for those aged 16-34. audiences, most preferring to watch VoD
4 România - Irlanda de Nord 4 Dieta rina 4 Rețetă pizza
5 România - Austria 5 Dieta disociată 333 5 Rețetă eclere during the week (27% for those aged 35-54 and
14% for 55+).
Source: Google Trends, 2020

56 57
 MOBILE APPS

Its popularity remains high primarily among Activities on mobile

Most-used social media platforms younger audiences and this makes its rivalry Use messenger app 85%
100%
91% with TikTok inevitable. Recent data shows that Take pictures 78%
90%
80% TikTok managed to surpass Instagram in terms Access social media 76%
70%
of total audience by the end of 2020 (with 5.3M Send text messages 72%
61%
60%
active users vs. 5M reached by Instagram in
OLV & OLA 65%
50%
Use email 65%
40% 36% 34% December 2020).
30%
29% 29%
25%
Access news sites 69%
20% The way people use TikTok has seen Download apps 57%
10%
tremendous growth among Romanians – Use GPS 60%
0%
Facebook Instagram Pinterest TikTok Linkedin Twitter Snapchat according to their internal data, users spend Access other sites 58%
Source: GWI, 16-64 Online population up to 70 minutes a day on TikTok helping the Access newspapers & magazines sites 53%
platform reach almost 32 B video views per Play games 55%
SOCIAL MEDIA month.
Make VOIP calls 43%
Order online 38%
The number of social media users reached 12M Also popular among young age segments Pay online 39%
in 2020 (which equates to 63% of Romania’s are Pinterest (with 1.3M total users, loved Use mobile banking 39%
population, reflecting a 9% YoY increase). Of especially by women, this is the perfect Read e-books 25%
this total, 11.77M people access social networks opportunity to promote artistic or creative Scan QR codes 18%
on a mobile device. services or products – the possibility to create Use electronic cards 16%
Facebook data shows that around 73% are solely Pinterest ads in our country is available starting 2020 2019 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
accessing the platform from their smartphone, with 2019), LinkedIn (which gathers 3M users Source: FOCUS CAPI IUN20-OCT20, National Weighted sample | 16-74 Online population
compared with only 2% visiting their profiles in Romania and according to internal data,
via only their laptop or desktop – there are 25% brings on the platform more than 20% of the
people using both smartphones and computers.
2020 has been a lot of things and one of them COMMUNICATION APPS
Romanian active working population), Twitter has been mobile. Because the outside world
Instagram continues to push the envelope with (currently has 658k total users and still has was largely inaccessible at the beginning of the
features and functionalities that transform growth potential in Romania) and Snapchat pandemic, the restrictions propelled activities most-used communication apps
mobile experience, which makes it the second- (where AR filters and tools are visual delight for that were much easier to reach on smartphones. 90%
81% 79%
most popular social networking app after 2.3M users). 80%

So, they have served as an indispensable source 70%

Facebook. 60%
of connectivity during those months of distance,
50%
keeping them in touch with loved ones (85% 40%
used messaging apps in 2020, with 4% YoY 30%
30%
increase), informed of the latest headlines (69% 20% 17%
consumed more news, +3% YoY) and helped 10%

mobile
0%
to acquire necessary goods (39% preferred the Whatsapp Facebook Messenger Skype WeChat
ease of online payments, +11% YoY). Actually, Source: GWI, 16-64 Online population

MOBILE OPERATING talking about online payments, Romanians

SYSTEMS
As StatCounter data shows, there have been
no major changes in Mobile OS Market since
it’s still dominated by Android (it is the
fastest-growing operating system in Romania
currently covering a massive 80% market share).
It is followed by iOS which recovers after last
year’s decline with 11% YoY increase, currently
accounting for 19.5%.
spent on average 44 € on mobile transactions
(compared to an average of 62 € for payments
made on desktop, according to GPeC report).
People have also used mobile banking apps
more (39%, +15% YoY) and found new forms of
entertainment in online games (55%, also, 9% of
them paid for mobile games apps).
While sheltering at home, people sought
new ways to connect with friends and family
through messaging platforms: most of them
used WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger (there
is a higher daily use for the first one especially
for people 16 to 54) for traditional networking
activities or for simple messaging behaviors.

58 59
 Sports Age 16-34
2020
2019
2.8
2.3
Gender Male Age 35-54
1.8
Against all odds, after being the detached leader found itself out of sight, replaced by Zoom Remarkable jumps were reflected by: Economy 1.3
nearly two decades, when the humanity met the (Skype has now a share of 30%, down by 6% & Finance has doubled in average monthly 0.8
0.3
greatest need to keep in touch via video, Skype compared to previous year). no of visitors (3.4M in 2020) – we see a more Gender Female -0.2 Age 55-74
balanced readership among social classes and a
great interest from the younger audience. It is M
Work-from-Home services – Traffic evolution ESOMAR ESOMAR
followed by Auto & Moto (+53%) and Health & social grade DE social grade AB
25
Personal care (+34%).
Display Units: M

20 ESOMAR social grade C

Economy & Finance Age 16-34

2020
2019 Classifieds 2020
15 2.8 Age 16-34 2019
2.8
2.3 2.3
Gender Male Age 35-54
10 1.8 Gender Male Age 35-54
1.8
1.3 1.3
0.8
5 0.8
0.3 0.3
Gender Female -0.2 Age 55-74
0 Gender Female -0.2 Age 55-74
Feb-20 Mar-20 Apr-20 May-20 June-20 July-20 Aug-20 Sept-20 Oct-20 Nov-20 Dec-20
M
Source: SimilarWeb data, Feb'20-Dec'20 Google Meet Zoom Live.com Microsoft Teams Skype ESOMAR ESOMAR M
ESOMAR ESOMAR
social grade DE social grade AB
social grade DE social grade AB
Among the work from home services, besides Meets also stood oud once it became free for ESOMAR social grade C
ESOMAR social grade C
Zoom, which has become wildly popular since everybody (in April 2020) and managed to
most people have flocked to the service due surpass Zoom’s performance in the last quarter The news categories had a boom during the
to its affordability and ease of use, Google of 2020 (boom registered once the online school Auto & Moto 2020 state of emergency (especially in March-
2.8 Age 16-34 2019
started again). April 2020) and immediately after that, the
2.3
Gender Male Age 35-54 traffic started to bounce-back – therefore, the
1.8
1.3 final increases remained at: 15% for News &
THE MOST VISITED WEBSITES 0.8
0.3 Analysis and 12 % for General News.
Top 20 Sites in 2020 (Unique Users Monthly average) the pandemic was unfolding – this is clear once Gender Female -0.2 Age 55-74
www.olx.ro 11,093 News & Analysis Age 16-34
2020
we see that news platforms dominate the top 2.8 2019
www.digi24.ro 10,884 M
2.3
www.adevarul.ro 8,496 20 of the most accessed websites in our country ESOMAR ESOMAR Gender Male Age 35-54
1.8
8,102 social grade DE social grade AB
www.libertatea.ro (where Digi24 held on to the top ranking in 1.3
www.stirileprotv.ro 7,884 0.8
www.capital.ro 6,464
terms of both visits and unique users). ESOMAR social grade C
0.3
www.playtech.ro 6,328 Gender Female -0.2 Age 55-74
www.mediafax.ro 5,971 The big exceptions to this contextual focus are Health & Personal care 2020
www.observatornews.ro 4,874 Olx, which remains the largest ad marketplace 2.8 Age 16-34 2019 M
www.cancan.ro 4,793 2.3 ESOMAR ESOMAR
www.evz.ro 4,793 in Romania, Playtech as the leading technology Gender Male
1.8
Age 35-54
social grade AB
social grade DE
www.fanatik.ro 4,386 news site and Cancan at the forefront of 1.3
www.a1.ro 4,269 0.8 ESOMAR social grade C
www.hotnews.ro 4,160
celebrities & entertainment sites. 0.3
www.digisport.ro 4,008 Gender Female -0.2 Age 55-74 General news Age 16-34
2020
2019
Since the restrictive context did not allow 2.8
www.antena3.ro 3,474
2.3
www.gsp.ro 3,411 people to take part in any sporting event, they M Gender Male 1.8 Age 35-54
www.stiripesurse.ro 3,399 ESOMAR ESOMAR 1.3
www.sport.ro 3,209 kept close to the online sports news: three social grade DE social grade AB 0.8
www.zf.ro 3,120 platforms in this category have find their place 0.3
0 2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 10,000 12,000 ESOMAR social grade C Gender Female -0.2 Age 55-74
Thousands
within top 20 websites (with Digisport ranking
Source: BRAT, SATI (Internet Audience and Traffic Measurement), first).
Jan-Dec 2020 M
ESOMAR ESOMAR
When we look at audience profiles, we see As mentioned earlier, overall increases also social grade DE social grade AB
With things constantly changing, the need to changes in all categories: not necessarily appeared for Sports (+26%) and Classified ads
ESOMAR social grade C
stay informed was vital in 2020, when there has in socio-demographic data, but in the total (+15%) – both being more popular among men.
been a huge increase of traffic to news sites as audience. At the opposite side, Celebrity & Entertainment
news was the only category registering an
overall decline (44%).
60 61
 PLATFORMS UPDATES Newsroom (Chargeads) Gameloft
Portfolio remained the same, and an important Best performing format was Full Screen
Adform change concerns “Stories” (special ad format), Interstitial (with a CTR benchmark of 4.5% and
provides brands access to new inventory that which is now delivered via programmatic, 92.6% MOAT benchmark in-view rate), while
Adform (one of the major programmatic
integrates ads into gameplay. Adform In-game and considering the general direction to Incentivized Video (the user receives a reward
platforms), seen an increased spend in 2020
Advertising covers a range of gaming types programmatic, this update has made many in the game after watching the video) delivered
with 51% (vs. 2019), sustained by a 100%
from E-sport, Streaming and Platform games, customers use this content & branding product. +90% complete views and 98.4% MOAT
growth of video, cumulating 20% of total spend
reaching a wide range of audience from casual benchmark in-view rate.
(from which 89% in-stream). Among the most used products remain native
gamers spending 10-20 mins per session to the
Most viewable formats were on mobile, with hardcore gamers (1-2 hours+). ads for performance campaigns. However, As playable ads, the most demanding formats
“Click to Fullscreen” at 74% and “Interstitial” we can notice an increased interest of were Interactive Videos such as Video with
From devices perspective, mobile gained the advertisers for large formats, and a more active Quick Time Events (40% Engagement Rate
at 67%, while lower were “3D box leader” and
most important share, reaching +80% in Q4 communication based on content. benchmark) and Minigames (more than 60%
“Standard”.
(Desktop had +35% only during Q1 2020, Engagement Rate benchmark). From devices
In-Game Advertising feature was an during lockdown). From devices perspective, the split gradually split perspective, most ads were displayed on
important addition to options portfolio, which turns into a monopoly, marking a clear mobile (73%) and tablets (27%).
preference of users for mobile (85%).
As users expect more engaging content, starting
with 2021 Gameloft focus is on interactive
ad-formats (which requires user interaction),
Device impressions ThinkDigital expecting to deliver very high engagement
% of Total Impressions Others Mobile Desktop
100%
ThinkDigital portfolio expanded with KPIs.
90%
80% the coming of edupedu.ro, economedia.ro,
70% revistabiz.ro, doc.ro.
60%
50% An important focus was on development of the
InternetCorp
40% Podcasts network, which by new productions In February 2020, InternetCorp launches
30%
(and a year and a half after the start of the IC Events, the newest business-to-business
20%
project), it has accumulated more than 1.2M solution for organizing and participating
10%
0%
YouTube audio-views and 103,000 auditions on in online events, a platform which allows
2019 Q2 2019 Q3 2019 Q4 2020 Q1 2020 Q2 2020 Q3 2020 Q4 average (total audience per episode), exclusively users to generate their own event page, invite
in audio platforms (the most used in Romania participants, interact with them and broadcast
being Spotify, Apple Music and Google live or recorded materials, depending on the
Podcasts). specifics of each company.
Agora Most used format across the network remained Portfolio updates: amfostacolo.ro,
In terms of product releases, they launched PA interscroller, as mobile inventory (respectively 7lucruri.ro life.ro, mamisicopilul.ro.
At Project Agora 2020 started with a strong Q1
Bidding version 3 on schedule, and made Social mobile ads) had the biggest share. sfatulmedicului.ro, astrocafe.ro, acasa.ro and
and with high expectations for what turned out
to become an unprecedented year. Cards format and Content Discovery (Taboola) sentimente.ro, and since November 2020, one
available through private deals. “Vertigo” of the most well-known sites in the e-commerce
With a stable portfolio, supply thrived format became the star of 2020 as clients shared area, www.teamdeals.ro.
during the lockdown, reaching a record of 1B results of 72% viewability and 1.23% CTR
impressions. (closely followed by “Social Cards” with similar The most used formats were box and
results). interscroller for mobile, billboard and branding
for desktop, while in terms of ads bought and
delivered devices split was 34% desktop vs. 66%
mobile.

62 63
DIGITAL MEDIA SPEND
2020 was a very different and difficult year,
but even in these conditions, digital media
managed to maintain a positive trend, with
short periods of investments pauses/decreases
(April and May being the only two decreasing
months vs. 2019). Powered by a strong second
semester, overall 2020 increased by 6%, with
Programmatic, Google and Facebook being
the main beneficiaries (while local display
decreased by 5%).
Most active industries were pharma, cosmetics,
auto and online retail, while highest decline
was from travel, beverages and finance/business.
PERSPECTIVES FOR 2021
As things settle in a more predictable way and
with an already strong Q1, all digital media
players expect an important increase in 2021
(estimated at +19% vs. 2020). Looking for
new growth solutions, players will continue to
develop different formats, mainly for mobile
(as Agora launched “Magic Story” – a brand
new format which allows brands to leverage the
popular Story format on the open web), and/or
expand targeting capabilities.
One of the most important topic for this year is
the close coming “cookieless world”, for which
solutions are sought by all the parties involved.
64
A market survey conducted by IAB Romania
(IAB Revenue Report) reported for H1 2020 a
significant increase in digital spending for a
large part of the market (being the participants
in the survey). Unfortunately, we cannot
confirm the major increase revealed by the
IAB survey, because the measurement was
OOH
distorted by a significant investment of the
Romanian Government on the market, but
also by the publisher’s declarations of long-tail
programmatic expenditures - which are not part
of our estimates.
Adform launched an advertising solution that
works without third party cookies, using first
party data from customers and publishers. The
solution is already live and see 2X higher CTR
in environments with no cookies using first
party IDs, while for publishers delivers a 3.5x
increase in sales on Safari. Also successfully
retargeting scenarios were tested (using the first
party IDs solution), where can be “linked” up
to 70% of the existing IDs.
We’ll see how this topic will develop, but
meanwhile 2 things are sure: companies are
still going to collect data and share or buy
it from trusted partners, while main players
(Programmatic platforms, Google, Facebook,
etc) will find ways (same or different) to
continue to offer very advanced targeting and
optimization options.
65
OOH
THE LAUNCH OF SAO: AFTER
A DEVASTATING 2020,
OOH FINALLY BECOMES
MEASURED
After a steady growth of the OOH advertising
budgets, in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic
managed to erase in 12 months almost 5 years
of growth, generating a 25% cut, at an estimated
net investment of 24.3M euro. The downtrend
was a natural result of the business-related
worries created by the uncertainty of how long
the sanitary crisis will last, how it will affect the
market and when we could hope for a recovery.
Therefore, although the traffic went down
only by 35% in the lockdown and maintained
a ratio of 15%-20% throughout the year (based
on Phoenix Media continuous traffic reports),
there was a general reluctance from advertisers
to invest in OOH campaigns, fearing that
further restrictions / lockdowns could severely
reduce the exposure of the ads and implicitly
the campaigns ROI.
This miscalculation on the advertisers’ side
was not a random occurrence, but part of a
recurring pattern. Until recently, OOH was
the only media channel with no measurement
66
data and capabilities. For this reason, whenever
the market was disturbed, outdoor media
received a disproportionate hit. The launch of
the Outdoor Audience Measurement Survey
(SAO), on the 15th of April 2021, marks a
milestone for the Romanian OOH industry.
Long overdone, put on hold in 2020 by BRAT
(the local trans-media audience measurement
association) due to restrictions, SAO now
enables a more analytic approach to outdoor.
Media specialists can provide specific audience
data, optimize exposure, and generate insights
about consumers travel habits, enabling OOH
campaign planning and optimization in line
with target audience behaviors and campaign
specifics.
The study currently covers 7,200 advertising
locations in Bucharest and top 10 cities
(Timisoara, Iasi, Constanta, Craiova, Oradea,
Cluj Napoca, Sibiu, Bacau, Brasov and Ploiesti),
with Pitesti to be added to the measurement
soon. This represents approx. 75% of the
existing locations in the respective cities, as
only big OOH vendors have joined the survey
so far. Bucharest subway is not included, as
Metrorex was not part of the research and
Phoenix Media TV screens are also not part of
the study yet.
The research is based on a sample of 13,252
respondents (4,200 in Bucharest and 750-1,300
per city in the rest of the country) among
population 14-74 years old (approx. 3.5 M
individuals) and is conducted in a continuous
process of face-to-face data collection by CAPI
interviews. Of course, weighting factors such
The outcomes of the study modules vary from
being able to evaluate an OOH campaign in
terms of total audience as the number of people
as gender, age, locality size, day of the week etc.
are taken into consideration to make the data who have the opportunity to see any of the
panels in the selection, at least once during the
relevant.
Basically, it measures the number of people and
campaign period (1/2/3 weeks), facilitating the
analysis of specific mobility data (travel habits,
the profile of those who see an OOH support
and it reports it as a weekly average, providing
frequency of trips, travel purpose etc.) for the
targeted prospects.
media planning data for all the supports present Some of the insights we have learned looking
in the survey. Traffic data are updated once
into the data bring a lot of clarity to current
per year and the next update is expected in the
knowledge about the outdoor behavior of the
autumn of 2021. population living in Bucharest and the top 10
largest cities:
The methodology consists of 3 components:
The Mobility Study & Travel Modeling based
on traffic data obtained from satellite images,
ü With its 7,200 advertising supports in Bucharest
and top 10 cities, the survey currently covers
almost 80% of the respective population.
Panels’ inventory & Visibility analysis for each
Different penetration levels can be observed by
support and the Audience & Media Indicators
city, given the participant vendors presence &
Calculation for each location and for the total
number of available supports.
campaign, as well.
67
 In one pandemic year,
ü The population in analized regions make on
average 4.1 trips per day and spend on average
but also for AB social grades besides Digital,
OOH is now confirmed as a touchpoint with OOH lost 8M Euro,
4.3 hours per day outside, with variations
between the most active group 14-34 y.o. (4.6
high impact potential.
representing 5 years
trips per day & average of 4.6 hours per day)
and the 55-74 y.o. reflecting the lowest mobility
ü Overall, 86% of the population in the analyzed
cities travel at least 3 times per week on
of sustained growth
(2.9 trips per day & average of 3.4 hours per average, with 14-34 y.o. and 35-54 y.o reflecting
day). comparable habits and 55-74 y.o. making less
frequent trips. Higher social grades clusters

ü Based on the Mobility study, we can analyse

the coverage potential for various target groups,
(ABC) tend to be more mobile and make more
daily trips. A long-awaited launch and safeguard against future crises:
in specific regions, as the travel patterns vary
the Outdoor Audience Measurement Survey (SAO)
significantly. In total survey, 14-34 y.o. are
the most active group, being inclined in high
ü Ininterested
general, people living in large urban are
in making trips (weekly average) brings measurement to the Romanian OOH
percentage to travel more frequently, while mostly for daily shopping, job related and for
park walks. Comparing age groups, 14-34 y.o.
older segments have a significantly lower Bucharest & top 10 cities
frequency of trips outside their homes, their favours trips to malls, restaurants/pubs/coffee Iași
lifestyle is more passive, centred more in the shops and sports, while 55-74 y.o. are interested Oradea
proximity of their household. In terms of more in daily shopping, park walks & visiting
Cluj-Napoca
social grades, the upscale cluster (AB) are most their friends / relatives, when they have the Bacău
7,200
inclined to travel most frequently either due to time. The trip purpose analysis by social grades Timișoara locations
Brașov
job requirements or for leisure/entertainment shows that upper class (AB) allocate less trips Sibiu
purposes. Therefore, not only for young adults for any kind of shopping and more for leisure
Ploiești
activities.
Constanța
13,252
București respondents
Craiova

A BREATH OF FRESH AIR:

ADVERTISERS IN THE STREETS DURING LOCKDOWN People go out
most often for
The higher is
the revenue,
An average of
This type of analysis can now be conducted for the campaign, enabling optimization 4.3 hours daily shopping, the bigger is
for specific target audience definition, for the and planning geo-flexibility as per clients’ spent outside 4 trips per day job-related trips the number of
daily, on average per capita and park walks daily kilometers
whole region or specifically for cities of interest objectives.

Constanța, High education

Higher social status București,
drives higher mobility,
Timișoara 18 km per day
with a preference vs
for leisure, rather cities with the biggest
Low & Medium Education
than shopping number of daily
kilometers per capita 11 km per day

68 69

Still, not all advertisers were reluctant, some
of them were extremely responsive, adapting
their creative messages to the new reality and
understanding that during times like these
people need a string emotional support and
solidarity from their preferred brands. One of
the best examples is the #AcasaSuntemBine
campaign implemented by LIDL during the
lockdown, encouraging people to stay at home
and enjoy the safety and comfort of their
families. The campaign covered the top 6 cities
with impactful formats. It was also posted at
the subway, emphasizing on the need of social
distancing in closed spaces.
As responsible advertising industry players,
Initiative Media and Mullen Lowe Profero
agencies carried out the #StaiAcasa endeavor
with the support of Euromedia and Phoenix
Media, bringing to everyone’s attention the
importance of social distancing and reduced
mobility during the State of Emergency
enforced by the Government. The Campaign
was awarded 1st place in ADC*RO, OOH
category.
The Government also stepped in with a public
educational campaign, investing an estimated
amount of 3M euro which also represented a
support for the OOH industry during this low
ad revenue period.
2020 was also a year with Local Elections.
Given the context and the restrictions, political
70
candidates pitched in with lower, but still most-
welcomed, budgets than expected.
In 2020, most advertisers changed their
approach, concentrating their presence in cities
larger than 100k population and shifted to
using more small formats, trying to cover more
territory with less money. Also, no significant
special projects were implemented. Retailers
consolidated their dominance in terms of OOH
ad presence, followed by pharma and gambling
advertisers, these being the economic sectors
which were favored, as the sanitary crisis
increased the demand for their products or
services. They were closely followed by banks
and telecommunications.
MARKET LANDSCAPE ‑
THE OOH SUPPLY SIDE
In terms of the OOH market landscape,
although the OOH Law is now in force and the
Implementation Norms approved, there were
no major changes in the networks structure,
as everyone was focused on getting through
the crisis. Prices dropped by approx. 20%
during Lockdown and bounced-back when
the restrictions became more permissive, with
September showing signs of recovery as the
OOH budgets increased again.
OUTDOOR ADS
Most OOH players concentrated on
maintaining their existing positions in the
market and on adapting their services and sales
policies to the new challenges. Although with
far less available OOH budgets, Euromedia
maintained its competitive sales packages for
Bucharest Transit media.
The presence of ads at the Subway was
impacted severely, not only by the 60% traffic
decrease, but also due to clients’ reluctance in
investing in a non-distancing environment.
Metrorex lack of flexibility in terms of 2020
price negotiation reduced budgets allocation
and investments were almost inexistent;
2020 followed a 40% subway advertising
prices increase in 2019, which was obviously
not sustainable in the new context. Given
the pandemic and administrative changes,
Metrorex also canceled the auction announced
for 2020 and a re-schedule was not yet
announced.
The 2020 end estimated market shares for main
vendors shows a stable evolution vs. 2019:
Euromedia & Affichage Romania (45%), Getica
(10%), followed by a significant fragmentation
(45%) among smaller providers. The OOH
players succeeded in maintaining their overall
inventory and improving their networks quality
by making new investments, especially in
DOOH locations, the most dynamic ones being
Euromedia, New Age Advertising, Universal
Solution and Getica.
In terms of format types, networks still rely
on backlit, the dominant format in the local
outdoor industry, with an estimated 45% of the
locations, followed by billboards with 19% and
city lights / bus-shelters with 14%. The rest
of 22% mostly consists in roll-overs, meshes,
prisms, unipoles, flags and DOOH.
INDOOR ADS
Indoor advertising was also severely impacted
by the uncertainties driven by the pandemics,
reducing close to zero, in some cases, the
allocated budgets. Nevertheless, Brand
Management succeeded in maintaining the
leader position in the indoor and in-store
categories. Elevate and Invent Media remained
the top players in Indoor ads in office buildings,
although the segment was highly affected by
white collars adopting the work-from-home
system from spring throughout the year. Also,
Info Sanatate remains the only niche player
providing Digital Signage TV Analytics, the
first frequency study for indoor advertising
implemented in our country. The study was
conducted by GBD Research and is endorsed
by organizations such as ARMA & ARIA.
DIGITAL OOH
In the last few years, a clear trend in increasing
DOOH inventory has already been established,
and although 2020 was tough for suppliers, they
kept investing in digital supports, claiming a
10% increase of the DOOH locations.
New players such as Universal and Getica
entered the segment, making competition
more challenging and creating encouraging
perspectives in this direction, as advertisers
seem to show an increasing interest in this type
of outdoor supports by slightly increasing their
budget allocation towards DOOH. Phoenix
Media and Euromedia kept expanding their
portfolio, while Media Advertising and Vision
Media Plus continued to operate in the Digital
outdoor segment with their existing support
networks.
DIGITAL INDOOR
It is currently represented by using plasma
displays distributed across networks in crowded
places and Blitz TV maintained its contract
with Metrorex for the subway LCD network.
WHAT TO EXPECT
FURTHER?
There is an obvious improvement from
last year in Outdoor spending budgets, and
things are gradually coming to a new normal.
Still far enough from the 2019 standard,
but indisputably better than 2020. As the
vaccination campaign continues and there
is more freedom of movement, the traffic
indicators are on the rise and consequently the
OOH supports reach potential.
Unlikely for the regular yearly first quarter,
2021 started with decent size campaigns from
retail and betting industry. Improvement signs
are also coming from telecommunications,
71
banks and FMCG advertisers. There is still the existing locations to better optimize clients’ Chart 3: SAO STUDY TOTAL COVERAGE BY CITY
hope for summer festivals communication, and communication and budgets. 35 90%

Thousands
EURO 2021 to boost the overall OOH spending, 84%
83% 82% 82%
as restrictions are expected to soften in the Following to the political changes resulted in 30 80% 80% 79%
79% 78%
coming weeks. 77% 80%
the last local electoral campaigns, some of the 75%
25
SAO will continue to consolidate its position as OOH supports from 1st and 2nd district in 68%
the unique reliable source of scientific data for 70%
Bucharest were neutralized. For the time being 20
OOH audience measurement: we expect that there hasn’t been announced any plan for a
the study will continue to grow into perfection, 15
future outdoor configuration. 60%
by new vendors joining the effort and more
10
supports being added to the audience and Significant changes were made also in
50%
monitoring systems. As SAO launched and Constanta where 95% of the locations were 5
things become clearer and data-reliable, we are neutralized, and the Local Council is preparing 16.82 11.26 4.18 28.65 3.99 1.57 11.91 14.95 9.80 2.56 10.00 10.59
expecting a price and ranking reevaluation of 0 40%
to announce a public auction.
Total BACAU BRASOV BUCURESTI CLUJ-NAPOCA CONSTANTA CRAIOVA IASI ORADEA PLOIESTI SIBIU TIMISOARA
Source: Initiative GRPs % Reach

Chart 4: SAO AUDIENCE PROFILE BY AGE GROUPS Chart 5: SAO AUDIENCE PROFILE BY SOCIAL GRADES
IN-DEPTH DATA 25 90% 25 90%

Thousands
85% 83%

Thousands
79% 80% 79% 78%
20 80% 20 80%
74% 74%
Chart 1: 2020 MARKET SHARES BY VENDOR Chart 2: MARKET SHARES BY FORMAT TYPE
15 70% 15 70%

10 60% 10 60%

5 50% 5 50%
Backlight
Others 45% 16.82 21.06 16.82 11.10 0
16.82 21.64 15.65 10.43
40%
0 40%
37% Billboard Total 14-34 35-54 55-74 Total AB C DE
Euromedia & Source: Initiative GRPs % Reach
Affichage 19% Source: Initiative GRPs % Reach
45%

Other format Chart 6: TRIPS NUMBER & TIME SPENT OUTSIDE Chart 7: TRIPS NUMBER & TIME SPENT OUTSIDE
New Age Getica 22% (AGE groups) Daily average (social grades) Daily average
8% 4.6
10% 4.4 4.5
4.6 4.7 4.5 4.3 4.2
4.3 4.4 4.1
Source: Initiative 4.1 3.9
3.7
3.4
Roll-over; Mesh; Prism City light
Unipole; Flag Bus 2.9

Special project shelter

22% 14%
Base population AB C1C2 DE
Base population 14-34 35-54 55-74 No of Trips Time Spent Outside (hours)
Source: Initiative
No of Trips Time Spent Outside (hours)
72 73
 RADIO

74 75
RADIO IN 2020,
MORE THAN EVER,
RADIO CONTENT
WENT BEYOND
THE PANDEMIC ACCELERATED THE TRANSITION OF RADIO RADIO SETS
STATIONS TOWARDS DIGITAL CONTENT INTEGRATION Over 151M Overall category accounted
2020 was a turning point for the radio industry radio channels supported Romanian artists online contacts delivered for 100M visits in 2020
through the overlapping of two important by broadcasting more local artists music and
by top radio stations (+44% YoY), with the best results
factors: the pandemic and a major change content: Europa FM aired more local music in
in the market radio audience measurement the evening slots, also inviting artists to engage
in 2020 (+32% YoY) registered in Q2 and Q4 2020
methodology, both generating shifts in the live through Skype with the listeners, Radio
radio consumption habits and radio channels
audience performance.
Guerrilla aired every Thursday exclusively
Romanian music, all day, Digi FM launched Online radio parties Revelionul ZU
the weekend broadcast „Productia locala”, aired attracted mass audiences, over 2M people on Facebook
Radio stations were among the first media
channels to adapt their programming by setting on Sunday afternoon. During quarantine, as real-life events felt like during 9 hours of live streaming
more frequent news slots and strengthening the Radio ZU produced live Zoom interviews with
far-away memories
Romanian artists reflecting honest real-life
bond with listeners. As it continued to play the
traditional role of the “voice in the room”, radio discussions about how they are coping with the Revelionul Relaxarii
content expanded from the usual receiving pandemic and airing live online mini concerts. 1M people on
devices to web, mobile apps, social and TV. Over 18,000 digital properties and
Europa FM, Digi FM, Radio ZU, Kiss FM, The sanitary crisis, marked by mobility Romanians 1,300 live participants
restrictions, has driven the need for human-
Magic FM, and Rock FM were the first stations peaked at midnight on Zoom
to-human connection. Now many urban
to produce daily special editions in the form
of syntheses containing recent information, employees are experiencing Zoom fatigue, in the live broadcast,
news, and recommendations, with the support especially white collars. A desire for authentic, of which 13,000 on the
Itsy Bitsy
of the most credible opinion leaders from the unfiltered discourse and interaction with other Radio ZU Youtube account
400,000 Romanian families
and 5,000 on the
Romanian society. people was born, and radio stations grabbed
the opportunity to adopt social audio as part of across 42 countries,
Some examples of radio stations’ civic Radio ZU Facebook page
involvement are the “Solitari si solidari –
their programming strategy for 2020, to better for 3 days and 3 nights
engage with their loyal listeners. Social media
Ramanem impreuna chiar si la distanta” of online streaming
platforms, digital audio, virtual events, and
campaign implemented by Kiss FM, Magic
conversations have been made available for
Approximately
FM and Rock FM, which was launched
as a platform for civic initiatives meant to
listeners to interact, and to marketers to engage 6,000 active visitors watched Approximately
support population during lockdown, and consumers in a dialogue which makes the ZUper New Year's Eve 96,000 views on radio
the “#10lasutapentruRomânia” campaign relationship more personal. on video streaming from visual from the page
from Radio ZU, which has donated 10% of
Digi FM launched the kids’ program „Ora de the ZU mobile app radiozu.ro/live
the Apr 2020 advertising revenues for medical
poveste” on the radio, on the Facebook page
equipment necessary in the COVID-19
Online radio content means more than listening.
and on the station’s website, bringing to kids
hospitals’ intensive care units.
and their parents fairy tales and stories read by
As the festivals and concerts industry was Lucian Mîndruta, Irina Rimes, Nono, Sore and Meanwhile, the bulk of radio reach still occurs
severely affected by the pandemic, the main other popular artists among kids.
on traditional radio sets.
76 77
Talking about engaging kids and their families,
Radio Itsy Bitsy brought together in June
(1st June is Children’s Day), 400,000 Romanian
families with kids from across 42 countries for
three days and three nights of radio and online
parties. Despite living on different time zones,
kids played #impreuna with their favorite
Superheroes, along with loved local artists such
as Smiley, Feli, Sore and Alina Sorescu.
Radio ZU was by far the most active radio
content producer, as they engaged with fans
through integrated content across digital
properties, beyond broadcast. A relevant
example is “Revelionul Relaxarii”, a party
organized in May 2020, at the end of the
lockdown, aired at night, which brought
together over 1M people on radiozu.ro,
Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, and over
1,300 live participants on Zoom, engaging live
with the Radio ZU DJ. “Marea Unire ZU”,
live concert broadcast in November 2020 on
Radio ZU and all its social platforms, was also
carried by Antena 1 on TV, for the first time.
“Revelionul ZU” was broadcast on the last day
of 2020, when the morning show hosts Mihai
Morar, Daniel Buzdugan and Emma Stefan
spent the night between years with their ZUper
listeners live, on a radio broadcast, gathering
Chart 1: LISTENING DEVICES ( Urban 11+ Mon-fri)
PC/Laptop Tablet Phone Ipod/MP3/MP4 Player
2017 2018
Source: ARA-MasoR
Please see the next sections for more details about the evolution of listening behaviours and for the
shifts which the pandemic triggered in the ranking of radio stations.
78
over 2M users during 9 hours of live Facebook
streaming, and over 18,000 Romanian listeners RADIO CONSUMPTION TRENDS
live at midnight. The event was designed to
also allow live Zoom interaction between the
After significant increases in 2019 and the pp) and in Bucharest (-6.2 pp), being directly
DJs and Radio ZU listeners.
beginning of 2020, radio audiences were influenced by the decrease of in-car listening.
For New Year’s Eve, another engaging show strongly affected by mobility limitations, Weekend activities were less impacted, resulting
was the integrated event produced by Digi24, dropping below 2018 levels. During weekdays, in lower decreases in urban ( -2.8 pp) and in
Pro FM and Digi FM covering the night daily reach decreased both at urban level (-5.3 Bucharest (-3 pp).
between the years with music powered with
legendary bands on the TV channel Digi24,
being matched with live broadcasts on Pro Chart 2: DAILY REACH (%) EVOLUTION YOY
FM and Digi FM radio stations. A 30-hour 80
76.9 75.9 76.8
music marathon was available as media content 74.7
75
at home, in the car, on laptop, tablet, or 71.6 70.6
smartphone, and on the digifm.ro website. 70
66.7 66.2 2018
64.7 63.9 64.8
Surprisingly, although radio content has found 65 63.2 2019
effective digital outlets, this does not drive a 2020
significant increase in online radio listening. 60
Traditional radios still lead as listening devices, 55
with almost 58% urban daily reach, despite Monday-Friday Saturday-Sunday Monday-Friday Saturday-Sunday
the 11% drop vs. 2019. The penetration of Urban Bucharest
digital devices use did not reflect the expected Source: ARA-MasoR
dynamics: mobiles decreased marginally from
13% to 12%, PC/laptops as well, from 8% to For several years prior to the COVID-19 by advertisers) became less attractive in 2020,
7%, the only increase was seen in Smart TV pandemic, the daily reach of urban population as the lockdown and more people working
usage for radio programs listening, which had a listening radio in the car had been on an work from home in big cities generated a major
marginal increase to almost 4%. increasing trend, as was the number of hours drop of the in-car listening (-8.1pp), which
spent daily in traffic, especially in Bucharest shifted only marginally to home radio listening
and large cities, reaching a maximum in 2019, (+1.3pp), the rest of audience being lost to
when in-car listening surpassed home listening other information sources as TV and internet,
for the first time. The daily airtime peaks, as 47% of urban listeners declare they listen
Smart TV TV Other Mode morning drive and evening drive, when people to the radio to better understand country and
14% were commuting (usually the most demanded world events.
12%
10%
8%
6%
4%
2%
2019 2020 0%
79
 Urban online radio listening continues to be lower than expected, only 15% of 14-74 y.o. declaring
they listen daily radio on digital devices, being preferred not only by younger listeners such as 14-24
Chart 3: PLACE OF LISTENING RADIO - DAILY REACH (%) EVOLUTION (Urban 11+ Mon-Fri) y.o. but also by active working adults 25-44 y.o.
At home In a car At work Other place
50%
45% Chart 5: DAILY ONLINE RADIO LISTENING BY AGE GROUP
40% Heavy (>3h/day) Medium (1-3 h/day) Light (< 1h/day)
35% 50
30%
40
25%
20%
30
15%
10% 20
5%
0% 10
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Source: ARA-MasoR
0
14-17 y.o. 18-24 y.o. 25-34 y.o. 35-44 y.o. 45-54 y.o. 55-74 y.o.
Source: SNA FOCUS CAPI IUL18-DEC20, 14-74 Urban

Overall, 40% of urban population listen linear consumption grows after 25 and remains
radio daily and the consumption frequency stable after 35 years old, with 34% listening,
tends to vary significantly by age group: the on average, more than 1 hour/day on average.
youngest age group (14-17 years old) shows
the lightest usage, while medium to heavy
This makes radio an effective media touchpoint
for targeting the adult population if high spot
RADIO MARKET OVERVIEW The combined effects of effects
of the two trends resulted in the
frequency is deployed. decrease of the radio stations ad
revenues to 22.5 M euro (-20%)
Chart 4: DAILY LINEAR RADIO LISTENING BY AGE GROUP The Radio Audience compared to 2019.
Measurement methodology
Heavy (>3h/day) Medium (1-3 h/day) Light (< 1h/day) aligned to Romanians’ living and In 2020 the ranking of top radio media trusts
100 working dynamics within EU was stable in terms of reported Rate Card
90 volumes, with marginal variations for each
80 In 2020, the Romanian radio industry has player: AG Radio Holding maintained market
70 decided to make a significant audience leadership (29% market share), followed at a
60 measurement methodology change, as the significant distance by Europe Development
50 2011 national census statistical data about the International (23% market share) and Grupul
40
population size and structure was no longer in Media Camina (21% market share). RCS & RDS
30
line with the reality. The measurement base kept the fourth position with 16% market share,
switched from permanent addresses according the only media trust reflecting a gross volume
20
to census data, to residents in Romania. This increase (+2pp vs. 2019), while the public radio,
10
accounted for the significant changes brought Societatea Romana de Radiodifuziune kept the
0
14-17 y.o. 18-24 y.o. 25-34 y.o. 35-44 y.o. 45-54 y.o. 55-74 y.o. by work migration, resulting in a decrease of 5th place with 7% market share, as did Radio
around 1.2M people in the 11+ daily reach at Guerrilla, staying on the 6th place with 4%
Source: SNA FOCUS CAPI IUL18-DEC20, 14-74 Urban
National level and of 500k in Urban. market share, same as in the previous year.

80 81
 Yet, Rate Card volumes do not reflect the
Chart 6: SHARE OF RATE CARD REVENUES reality of the radio market evolution in 2020,
BY MEDIA TRUST as these are subject to discounts and special
4% offers granted to the advertisers throughout
7% the year, with a special approach during the
spring lockdown. A more accurate image of
29% the COVID-19 impact on radio activity is
shown by the monthly evolution of aired radio
16% commercials compared to 2019, trend which
is mirroring the mobility restrictions imposed
through the year: after a 8% increase in Feb
2020, the lockdown enforced mid-March
resulted in a 13% drop in the number of spots
aired that month and an avg. 33% drop through
Radio Stations Performance
In the new context of 2020, radio stations
performed differently, some of them in a quite
surprising way. With a daily reach increase
(+1.4 pp) vs. 2019 the public station Radio
Romania Actualitati became the new leading
Chart 8: TOP 10 RADIO STATIONS PERFOMANCE Urban vs. Bucharest
14.1
13.3
12.6 13.2
11.3
radio station in Bucharest, overtaking Radio
ZU, which dropped 2pp vs. previous year. Kiss
FM (-2.1 pp vs. 2019) and Europa FM (-0.2pp)
followed, while Magic FM ranked fifth with an
almost flat evolution. Surprisingly, Digi FM
kept a low performance in Bucharest (3.4% vs.
3.6% in 2019).
10.9

21%
23%
A.G. RADIO HOLDING = Kiss FM, Magic FM, Rock FM
EUROPE DEVELOPMENT INTERNATIONAL =
Europa FM, Virgin Radio
GRUPUL MEDIA CAMINA = Radio ZU
RCS AND RDS = Pro FM, Digi FM
SOCIETATEA ROMANA DE RADIODIFUZIUNE =
Radio Romania Actualitati
GUERRILLARADIO = Radio Guerilla
Source: Media Monitor BRAT (Rate card revenues)
Chart 7: RADIO INSERTIONS EVOLUTION 2019 - mar 2021
120,000
Daily Reach %
April-May, starting to show a normalization 9.4 9.2
trend from June 2020 ( -13%). 7.6 7.5
5.9
5.2 4.6 4.7
Marginally higher levels were achieved during 3.4 3.7 3.3 3.1
Jul-Sep (+4%), as restrictions were relaxed. The
summer relaxation led to a new infection peak
and more restrictions in place from autumn, Kiss FM ZU Actualitati Europa FM Magic FM Digi FM ProFM Virgin Radio Rock FM
with direct impact on the spots volume (-8%) Urban 11+ y.o. Bucharest 11+ y.o.
Source: ARA-MasoR
during Oct-Dec 2020 and an average of (-10%)
in Jan-Feb 2021. The high vaccination rate
in urban areas, as well as the hope for life
normalization resulted in 10% spots increase At urban level, Kiss FM maintained leadership information sources for frequent updates about
in Mar 2021 (also pre-Easter period) and is
despite the 1.5 pp drop in daily reach, being the pandemic evolution across the country,
expected to remain on a positive trend, as the followed by Radio ZU with 12.6% (-0.8 pp). while younger generations shifted more
infections rate has decreased significantly, and Romania Actualitati with a steady performance towards online content platforms (including
new relaxation measures are in force from May (11.3% daily reach) overtook Europa FM (-0.8 radio). At the same time, the change of the
2021. pp vs. 2019). radio audience measurement favored the station
with more mature listeners profile, as young
This performance evolution could be adults are more inclined to seek work and life
explained as the result of more loyal linear opportunities abroad.
2019 2020 2021 radio audiences sticking to their preferred

100,000

80,000

60,000

40,000

20,000

0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Source: Media Monitor BRAT database

82 83
Local Radio
In 2020, local radio stations have also adapted
their program schedules by providing up-
to-date news, information, reports, and
many local stations have offered free airtime
to non-governmental organizations, as a
form of support. They also increased their
presence in social media, more and more
broadcasts starting to be live streamed. Still,
the most important barrier for local radio
stations remains the absence of audience data
measurement, which could generate additional
ad revenues.
ARBOmedia remains the largest Sales house
for local radio stations across the country,
WHAT TO EXPECT IN 2021?
Given the current context when pandemic is
still with us, but advanced vaccination rate
gives us a positive perspective of returning to a
normal life we expect the radio industry to be
marked by two major trends:
First is that linear in-car radio listening will
recover, as mobility restrictions have been
cancelled, however, the performance recovery
will be partial because many employees will
continue to work partly from home, especially
in Bucharest and the big urban area.
This new normal that will be established
throughout 2021 will continue to offer growth
opportunities for radio stations to build strong
360 radio brands identities based on their live
linear transmissions as well as on powerful and
more diversified digital properties. This trend
existed prior to pandemic but was significantly
intensified in the last 12 months as a way for
radio companies to convert their ad revenues
decline to a positive evolution. Radio stations
will continue to develop the listening mobile
84
representing the interests of over 90 stations
in the advertising market. From this strategic
PRINT
position, in 2021 ARBOmedia is also the
initiator of a partnership with Dan Negru, who
will have a few minutes broadcast on local
radio stations across the country. The show
will be aired through 51 local frequencies in 47
cities in Romania, thus reaching an audience
of 5.8 M inhabitants in urban areas. The radio
programme will last approx. 2 minutes and will
be aired daily during weekdays under the name
of “Vorba lu’ Negru”, as a filler in the morning
programs. The TV producer will introduce to
the radio public curiosities, unique elements,
various facts, interesting events throughout
history, approaching general culture topics.
apps for iOS & Android smartphones, and the
development of special integrated projects will
make social media become an important trigger
for radio content consumption, helping radio
trusts to aggregate higher media and marketing
budget shares.
As radio is now turning from an ambient media
touchpoint into an engagement vector, with
a strong personal imprint, borrowing more
and more of the digital channel’s features,
advertisers are expected to also embrace more
the opportunities to associate their brands with
social audio content, podcasts, and engaging
radio projects.
From this perspective, in 2021, the net radio
market is expected to increase by 10% vs. 2020
at the level of approx. 26.5 M euro, as the social
relaxation and going back to a new normal life
will support radio stations to compensate the
loss from linear radio sales with revenues from
integrated content accessible in several places
and on multiple devices.
85
PRINT NEGATIVE RECORD:
PRINT LOST HALF OF ITS
2020 WAS A TOUGH YEAR FOR PRINT. THE SURVIVING TITLES VALUE IN 2020
SUCCESSFULLY ADDRESS CROSS-MEDIA AUDIENCES
THE REMAINING
Print media was already on a descending trend case of Adevarul, the average exclusive online TOP PUBLICATIONS
due to reduced distribution and a continued audience is four times the print title readership,
HAVE ADOPTED CONTENT
DISTRIBUTION STRATEGIES
transition of readers towards digital media. In (1988k vs. 452k).
2020 the mobility restrictions enforced by the Ziarul Financiar also reflects a significant
Government reduced dramatically the demand exclusive online audience, with high TO PERFORM BOTH IN PRINT
AND ONLINE, DEPENDING
for print publications and implicitly the duplication across different digital supports.
central titles’ distribution across the national
ON AUDIENCE PROFILES AND
At the opposite end, Click reflects the genuine
territory, as most of the sales points were closed
tabloid reader profile for whom the print copy
during spring total lockdown. As a result,
the estimated net print advertising revenues
exclusive audience is dominant, being almost
twice the online audience (955k vs. 502k).
EDITORIAL FOCUS.
dropped by 49% vs. 2019, at the level of 6.2M
euro, the highest drop since the establishment Business Magazine, a weekly business
of the print advertising market in Romania. publication delivers an audience profile
comparable to Ziarul Financiar in terms of the
In this context, integrating digital properties in
exclusive website and FB contribution to the DAILIES & WEEKLIES
commercial offers became vital for publishers. 360 PROFILE LEGEND
brand’s total performance, still more balanced
Some of them are already using the industry
ratio between print and Digital, as the targeting 75 119 20
syndicated study for consumer and brand 452
is less upscale. 502 123
research SNA-FOCUS developed under BRAT
association to measure their brands 360 degrees Women’s glossy magazines have developed 228 137 387 64
extended audience, turning it into a valuable in time both web and social media assets into 119
955
tool in their strategic approach, while building 1988 524 PRINTED
strong touchpoints. The first launched titles, COPIES
integrated commercial offers.
Avantaje and Unica, have managed to achieve ADEVARUL CLICK ZIARUL BUSINESS
a wide urban female audience, reaching the FINANCIAR MAGAZIN
Based on 2020 average performance, the
analysis shows that both print and online point when website audience is higher than the
FACEBOOK
touchpoints tend to be important audience print version, as magazines distribution outside GLOSSY MAGAZINES
top 10 cities is scarce while website content is 360 PROFILE
vectors. For example, comparing the three
dailies present in this BRAT module, available nationally, one click away.
21
Adevarul (main quality daily), Click (most 143
41 127
226
WEBSITES
The more niche brands readers of Elle and 10
popular daily) and Ziarul Financiar (most 63
Cosmopolitan continue to have the print issue 87 108 27 352
prestigious financial daily), the strength of each
as their favorite way of entertainment and self- 159
touchpoint is different, as socio-demographic 42 170 DUPLICATION
indulgence, still, the FB page and website are 233 446
profiles vary among them. For example, in
continuously developed in strong engagement
AVANTAJE ELLE COSMOPOLITAN UNICA
components.

86 87

CONTENT STRATEGIES TO OVERCOME
A DISTRIBUTION NIGHTMARE
The distribution challenges imposed by the
pandemic determined some of the publishers
to suspend the print editions and to enter a
predominantly digitalized era, as major players
such as Mediafax, Adevarul Holding, Romania
Libera, Bursa, NewMoney, NewsWeek, shifted
their titles to online versions.
Other publishers, such as Ringier and City
Publishing (ex. Burda) decided to keep the
print issues in limited editions or change
the release frequency (e.g., weeklies became
fortnightlies). In their attempt to keep
their loyal readers interested during the
pandemic, all printed publications were also
made available for free, in e-paper format, to
online readers. The top national dailies Click,
Libertatea and Gazeta Sporturilor continued
to release their print editions during weekdays,
while shifting their Sunday editions to online.
Publishers’ creativity and flexibility in adapting
to the new reality was also illustrated by
the Zile si Nopti free pop-culture magazine
previously distributed in shopping malls, now
forced to find a new distribution channel and
also to comply with the mandatory hygiene
and prevention rules. Home delivery services
networks took on their publications wrapped in
plastic, perfectly safe for the potential readers.
To keep advertising budgets from a total
collapse, starting with the first lockdown in
March 2020, print publishers shifted their effort
towards developing more of their titles’ social
media accounts, including the most recent ones
such as TikTok and providing more digital
integration to their advertising clients.
The 2020 mobility restrictions also had a major
impact on the print houses’ events calendar,
88
usually quite rich and interesting. Some glossy
magazines such as Elle, Unica and Forbes
moved their offline events online. For example,
Elle organized its glamourous events Elle New
Media Awards and Elle Style Awards in two
parts – a first part, interactive, inviting readers
to the voting page on a a platform created by
Ringier and a second part, the prizes awarding
on the Facebook page and YouTube channel.
Starting September 2020, Elle started a series of
social media workshops, one on each platform
(TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube),
moderated by Elle editors and with 2-3 guests
who answered participants’ questions, live.
The business daily newspaper Ziarul Financiar
managed to consolidate its leading position
as partner in the business environment by
deciding to shift part of their events to video
content and videoconferences on various
topics (health, real estate, IT, Romanian
brands etc.). For example, the fourteens
edition of the HR Trends 2020 conference
was organized exclusively online, streamed on
zf.ro and Facebook for around 3.5 hours and
moderated by Sorin Paslaru, editor-in-chief and
Adelina Mihai, human resources editor. The
participation was impressive, reaching 40,000
unique viewers (31,000 on the Facebook page
and 9,000 on the website).
One of the main reasons for ad revenue
losses was the cancellation of the live sports
events, especially the 2020 European Football
Championship and the Olympic Games,
both expected to bring additional income
compared to a regular year. These events are
usually a high attraction for several brands
in categories with high affinity for sports,
challenge, perseverance, endurance, outdoor
activities, talent and hard work. Usually, these high engagement touchpoints at national level.
major sports events manage to generate a large
amount of dedicated content, from printing
The forced standstill in April 2020 was marked
by a special edition of Gazeta Sporturilor daily
special supplements to integration with all the
publishers’ digital properties and partnerships
under #dordesport, with 12 famous sportsmen
being present on the same day on 12 paper
with radio and / or TV channels, representing covers.
PRINT MARKET OVERVIEW
In 2020, based on Rate Card advertising Adevarul Holding followed with 25%, while
revenues, the top players ranking showed some the third place was shared by Mediafax (Ziarul
changes. Same as in 2019 Ringier held the first Financiar and Business Magazin) and City
position, with 33% gross revenue share due Publishing (ex Burda), each with 8% gross
to its broad publication portfolio, many of its
revenue share.
titles being market leaders in their segments.
REVENUES SHARE BY MEDIA GROUP (Rate card | excluding barters)
12%
RINGIER ROMANIA
2% ADEVARUL HOLDING
2% MEDIAFAX GROUP
2% 33%
CITY PUBLISHING
3% (ex BURDA)
BP PUBLISHING MEDIA
5% TRANSILVANIA
GRUP BUSINESS
THETA PROFICIENCY
ANTENA 3 (JURNALUL)
8%
PATETIC MEDIA
OTHERS
8%
Source: BRAT MONITOR database
25%
PRINT READERSHIP TRENDS
adults switched years ago to news websites,
The impact of a disruptive year was also
while weeklies dropped at 4.2% (-1.7pp), also
visible in a more abrupt readership decline
following a several years declining trend.
among urban 14-74 y.o. population for daily
Monthlies coverage proved to be less affected
newspapers and weeklies. The average coverage
in 2020, keeping steady at 14.6% (actually, with
of dailies decreased at 3.7% (-1.2pp) from
+0.6pp).
an already low level, as most urban active
89
COVERAGE TREND BY PUBLICATION TYPE 14-74 y.o. urban
40
WHAT TO EXPECT IN 2021?
35
30
25
If we were to name a positive effect of the Print titles might regain popularity, although
20 pandemic, this would be the accelerated not very likely at pre-pandemic levels, by
15 digitalization trend of offline media channels, adopting a “green” approach towards nature
10 print being, of course, one of them. For and decided to release their issues exclusively
5 publishers that proved themselves to be on recycled paper.
0 more flexible and creative in the new life and
Wave Jan12-Dec13 Wave Nov12-Nov14 Wave May14-Nov15 Wave Jun15-Nov16 Wave Feb16-Oct17 Wave Feb17-Oct18 Wave Oct17-Oct19 Wave Jul18-Dec20
economic context, the e-paper represented in As 2021 is bringing back to everybody’s
Monthlies Weeklies Dailies attention the two major sports events
Sources: BRAT SNA-FOCUS database
2020 the tipping point for engaging more with
their readers through digital editorial content. postponed from last year, the European
From now on, many publishers are expected Football Championship and the Tokyo Olympic
This evolution is also supported by the analysis address a medium-high social status reader
to continue developing their digital media Games, both being scheduled during summer,
of the audience profile for each publication (75% have ABC social grades) and with an
touchpoints and integrate more formats across print publishers as well as all other media
type. Monthly magazines, most of them glossy, almost even distribution across active adults
several platforms, to better match their readers’ channels on the market will do their best to
age groups.
evolving habits for content consumption. attract as high as possible media budget shares,
putting their creativity and products in the
DEMOGRPHIC PROFILE BY PUBLICATION TYPE SOCIAL GRADE PROFILE BY PUBLICATION TYPE The print component will most probably most attractive shape possible for both sports
100% 100% continue to diminish in time, as production content consumers and marketers.
11.5 11.8 11.2
90% 90% costs are high and distribution chains are
25.1 27.4 29.7 In this forecasted context, we estimate that in
80% 80% not likely to recover soon. Print brands will
22.7 23.3 22.9 2021 the print industry will reach 6.2M euro,
continue their digitalization by developing
70% 70% having a flat evolution vs. 2020.
online editorial content, social media
60% 60% 33.6 engagement as well as video content to offer
20.3 21.1 19.1 34.6 33.3
50% 50% integrated media exposure to their advertising
40% 19 40% clients.
19.5 20.2
30% 30%
20% 16 17.5 20% 41.3 37.9 37
14.9
10% 10%
10.1 8.7 10.3
0% 0%
Monthlies Weeklies Daylies Monthlies Weeklies Daylies
65-74 55-64 45-54 35-44 25-34 14-24 DE C AB
Sources: BRAT SNA-FOCUS database

Sources: BRAT SNA-FOCUS database

Note: Coverage represents the average number of readers for each publication type as percentage of the universe.

Weekly titles target more mature readers (65%
are 35-64 y.o.), with medium education and
income levels, being more focused on practical
topics such as wellbeing, health, cooking,
house and garden and other routine activities.
Therefore, they were more prone to losing their
relevance once the sanitary crisis was confirmed.
The daily newspaper reader profile is the most
mature of all three, with 45-74 y.o. representing
53% of the consumers, with the highest affinity
among 55-64 y.o. and medium-high educated
readers.

90 91
 CEE
COUNTRY
PULSE

92 93
CEE COUNTRY PULSE
DURING TIMES OF
PANDEMIC
WHAT HAPPENED IN 2020? THE INITIAL HEALTH CONCERN WAS
REPLACED BY THE FEAR OF A DRAMATIC ECONOMIC IMPACT
In general, we can say that COVID-19 impact
on people and economies was almost the
same across the CEE region. At the beginning
of the pandemic, people felt threatened by
the unknown enemy, especially the older
generation. People across the region were
willing to accept restrictive measures and
understood the need for social distancing, for
closing some points of retail, some services,
schools, universities as they were optimistic
that pandemic will end soon, and they will
get back their previous lives. Optimism faded
over time as the duration of the pandemic
lengthened more than expected and the
negative impact strengthened on most of the
CEE countries which faced mass infections also
during second and third waves (Oct-Dec 2020
and Feb-Mar 2021).
While national health services were close to
collapse, being overwhelmed by the sanitary
crisis, citizens across the region had to survive
several lockdowns: Poland in spring and
autumn 2020, and again in spring 2021, in
Hungary the first lockdown lasted till the
beginning of May 2020 and is currently in the
third lockdown, gradually opening the economy
as the number of vaccinated people is growing.
94
So, the original health concern was replaced by
a fear of economic impact. With the advance
of lockdowns and emergency / alert states
enforced by local Governments, some economic
sectors were severely affected, especially those
related to leisure and tourism: restaurants,
hotels, travel agencies, long-distance personal
transport, music and events industry, cultural
venues. Also, most businesses such as beauty
services, gyms and fitness clubs, make-up
cosmetics, brick-and-mortar clothing, shoes
and accessories points of retail, gas stations,
were closed or functioned with reduced activity.
Shopping malls, very popular across the
region, were almost permanently closed during
lockdowns except for supermarkets, grocery
stores and pharmacy retail chains, which were
providing basic supply needs to the population,
thus becoming the most prosperous businesses
during the sanitary crisis.
Profound scars were left by the pandemic
on the economies of most countries in the
region, resulting in a lower quality of working
conditions and pay cuts for the employed
population, while many were exposed to the
risk of losing their jobs. Montenegro was one
of the most affected countries in CEE affected
by the pandemic, and people are still trying to
adapt their lives to the “new normal”.
The country is facing a strong health crisis
since Sep 2020, with some of the highest rates
of COVID-19 cases and death rates in the
world. Since the country generates almost a
quarter of its GDP from tourism, and tourism
was one of the most impacted industries, the
whole economy suffered, leading to a significant
unemployment rate growth. In Croatia, in
December 2020 the unemployment rate hit the
9.5% level, up from 9.3% in previous month, as
many business activities remained closed amid
the extension of lockdown restrictions.
The total retail trade turnover in Croatia
decreased by 6% in 2020 compared to the
previous year, with only 3 sectors reflecting
growth: pharma, food stores and Internet
retail sale. The lower disposable incomes and
economic uncertainty caused by lockdown
resulted in weaker demand of discretionary
goods, among which the most affected were
automotive, clothing / footwear, furniture /
electrical appliances with 18.1%, 22.1% and
respectively 2.3% decreasing rates vs. 2019.
In such a context in which revenues were
affected by the economic impact of the
pandemic, and expenditure increased especially
for the health sector and for the business
environment support, Romania’s economy lost
3.9% in 2020, reflecting a moderate decline
compared to other countries in the region,
which has all the chances to be followed by a
fast recovery, as the European Commission
estimates a complete recovery of the economic
production already in 2021.
95
NEW LIFESTYLE HABITS consumption hit during Easter period (Sources:
SHAPED BY THE PANDEMIC
People have been taking more care of their
health, spending more time with their families
and in nature, staying at home made them more
interested in using services and retail operating
directly in their neighborhoods, avoiding
public transportation as much as possible, to
keep social distancing.
The major lifestyles and consumption changes
were generated by remote working and online
education. As many as 25% of professionally
active population are currently working from
home in Poland, while in Hungary around
18% of the populations moved to home office
permanently, especially white collars.
With entertainment and cultural venues closed
people searched for home entertainment,
therefore in 2020, 65% of the households in
Poland owned subscriptions to paid TV (cable,
satellite, IPTV) and 26% of households paid
for access to online streaming platforms, with
Netflix having over 5M monthly real users
(according to AC Nielsen; Gemius). Staying
at home, Poles turned to online gaming, the
number of households owning a game consoles
grew +38% reaching 22% of all households.
Romania saw similar evolutions, with +54%
higher spending on online entertainment.
Gaming was a particularly favorite activity
in 2020, with significant increases: +32% in
search volume for related keywords (compared
to previous year), +45% video game sales and
doubled demand for game consoles during
the outbreak (March-April 2020, compared to
previous month). Also, during the same period
marked as the lockdown peak, people spent
more money on VoD subscriptions (Revolut
reported moderate increase for: HBO GO
25% and Netflix 11%). Significant growths
were seen among all age group, with a record
96
Google reports, Mediafax, Revolut).
Remote working significantly changed the
landscape of the largest cities across the
region. Less workers commuting daily to office
districts caused a bankruptcy of many small
catering services, but also the close-down of
well-known coffee shop chains in those districts,
such as Starbucks in Poland.
With nearly a third of Romanian businesses on
the verge of bankruptcy, the HoReCa industry
is one of the most affected by the economic
impact of the coronavirus outbreak. While
many of the restaurants suspended their activity,
others took the necessary measures to save their
businesses and turned to the delivery market:
Romanians spent about 500M euros in 2020
on home deliveries: food, coffee or cakes they
previously had when eating outside. (Sources:
ZF, Economica).
Pandemic restrictions caused a boom in
e-commerce, the purchase of goods shifted
significantly towards online, and even older
generations who did not use to buy this way at
all, are now shopping more online, a habit that
that they will most probably retain after the
pandemic is over.
In Hungary, e-commerce grew significantly
(+45%) compared to 2019 as closing physical
retail points, had generated an artificial traffic
to online stores; besides already frequently
e-shopped categories (clothes, electronics
etc), other categories emerged while being in
quarantine, such as grocery shopping, online
pharmacy, and cooked food home delivery.
Although online shopping became inevitable
part of life, respondents of a proprietary IPG
research claim that they would prefer going
back to offline shopping for some products
after restrictions come to an end. According
to the same study, cultural consumption and
travelling are the two main areas where people
experienced the most significant changes,
however, this effect is expected to be reduced
after opening, people in Budapest being more
impacted than in other parts of the country.
In Slovakia, even though the shoppers became
more cautious of how they spend their money,
the importance of online as a purchase channel
grew by 34% compared to the previous year,
also registering a wider base of online shoppers.
As a result, the average spend per capita
increased by 25% as well as the total amount
spent. Some pre-existing barriers, such as the
need to see and try on clothes prior to purchase
and the reluctance to change purchased goods
have been overcome naturally. In this context,
specialized food & beverages delivery services
such as Bolt, Wolt and others boomed, as did
online grocery delivery retailers such as tesco.
com.
Croatia consumers‘ shift towards online
shopping was also significant, recording an
increase of 12.6% vs. 2019.
When shopping online, people use mobile apps
more than ever before, and if we were to name a
positive consequence of COVD-19, this would
be the accelerated technological shift, especially
in ​​digitization and communication. In Poland,
28M people (+37%) made online purchase in
2020. 12M (+63%) did it via their smartphones.
A leading e-commerce platform Allegro
reached 18M monthly real users, according
to Gemius. In the 2020 yearly financial report
Allegro reported +54% increase of net revenue.
The insecurity of the future caused a drop in
personal financial investment. Consumers were
not willing to invest in luxury goods. The sales
of new cars dropped by 23% vs. 2019 (Source:
Samar). With a very high inflation rate and
interest on bank saving accounts near 0% those
customers who had high savings turned to
invest in real estate. Contrary to pre-pandemic
forecasts such increased demand caused an
average price increase of 10% in real estate
industry.
COVID-19 accelerated digital transformation
in Romania, as well: consumers made most
of the online purchases using their mobile
phones (+65%, even if the transaction value
is lower than the one made on desktop), and
the number of those who paid online by card
increased by 17% compared to 2019 (a major
effect considering that before 2020, in Romania,
cash on delivery was the preferred method of
payment for more than 80% of online shoppers).
Of the Romanian internet users living in urban
areas, 70% say they use contactless cards and
almost as many used mobile banking apps
(65%). Still, the economic downturn during the
pandemic influenced the Romanians’ financial
behavior: 75% of them decided to cut their
spending back to the basics (well above the EU
average of 58%) (Sources: GPeC report, iSense
Solutions & BRIT 2020, ING 2020).
97
CEE MEDIA REVENUES DROPPED DURING the FIRST LOCKDOWN Implicitly, the media spent per capita (euro)
decreased across CEE, reaching a level 9%
with negative evolution in all countries.
Nevertheless, the previous year ranking was

MOST COUNTRIES GOT BACK ON TRACK IN H2 2020 below 2019, at 51 euro per capita in 2020, kept, with Czech Republic, Slovenia, Slovakia,

The pandemic hit hard the CEE media markets cancelled their budgets. Soon after, some of
in 2020, and the most affected channels them started to adapt their communication
were those that stopped functioning during and media mixes in line with the context, and
Chart 2: 2019-2020 NET MEDIA SPEND PER CAPITA (EUR)

183
lockdowns or delivered diminished reach the first categories to resume their activity 200

170
due to traffic restrictions, such as outdoor were telecommunications, finance and hygiene 180

and cinema, while the demise of Print media products categories. By the end year, household 160
140
continued at a higher speed compared to the care products and telecommunication had
120
previous years. In the attempt to reduce the increased their ads revenues compared to 2019,

87
100
steep decline, across the region, most of the while entertainment, food and retail sectors

79
71
80

64
media suppliers offered additional discounts, were most affected by significant budget

58

56
54
52
51

51
49
60

43
promo packages or special prices to the reduction. North Macedonia (-25%) was the

34
31

30
29
40

25
24
18
advertisers which continued to be active during second country with major media spend drop,

18
13

13
12

12
11
20

8
8
lockdown periods. where, despite the TV consumption increase
0
at the beginning of the year, the pandemic

Croatia

Slovenia

CEE avg
Bulgaria

Serbia
Hungary

Slovakia

Moldova
Poland

Romania
Herzegovina

Czech Republic

Montenegro
North Macedonia
Albania
Overall, in 2020 the media net budgets in the

Bosnia &
had a reversed effect on media budgets, as
CEE registered a (- 9pp) vs. 2019, reversing they declined significantly in the first half of
the positive trend from 2019 (+4pp vs. 2018). 2020. However, by the end of the year, most 2019 2020
Countries were impacted differently, in Source: IPG Mediabrands Local agencies
advertisers were back on air, the market
accordance with the severity of the restrictions reflecting a significant growth in e-commerce
and the impact on various economic sectors. and delivery services investment.
The highest drop was seen in Montenegro A second group of countries, including Poland, and Hungary still having the highest levels (347 M euro), a third cluster of 150 - 250 M
(-33%), where the pandemic restrictions Hungary, Bulgaria, Slovakia & Slovenia across the region. euro markets such as Bulgaria (213 M euro),
had a dramatic impact on tourism and other registered an estimated net media investment Serbia (198 M euro), Croatia (174 M euro)
categories related to hospitality services. From In 2020 the CEE media markets map continues and Slovenia (165 M euro) and the group
decrease of 10-11%, while Czech Republic,
the start of the first lockdown, at the end of to be as polarized as it was prior to the of countries with low population in the
Romania, Serbia, Moldova, and Albania
March 2020 and during April 2020, many registered by the end of 2020 contractions pandemics, with Poland (1,867 M euro) and region, which also reflect the smallest media
advertisers stopped their campaigns and below 10%. Czech Republic (1,806 M euro) leading at a market sizes Albania (34 M euro), Bosnia &
significant distance, followed by a cluster of 300 Herzegovina (32 M euro), North Macedonia
– 500 M euro countries formed by Hungary (500 (27 M euro), Montenegro (8 M euro) and
Chart 1: 2020 vs. 2019 estimated NET MEDIA SPEND EVOLUTION (%) M euro), Romania (462 M euro) and Slovakia
20% Moldova (27 M euro).
13.5%

7.9%
7.6%

6.4%

10%
5.7%

THE IMPACT ON MEDIA MIX: SHIFTS IN cONSUMERS’ LIFESTYLE

4.6%

4.5%

4.1%

4.0%

4%
2.5%

1.3%

0%
ACCELERATED DIGITALIZATION ACrOSS THE REGION
-8%

-16%

-10%

-16%

-7%

-25%

-11%

-33%

-10%

-4%

-6%

-10%

-10%

-5%

-9%
-1.1%
-2.4%

-5.4%

-10%

The total CEE region gathered 5,859 M euro vs. marginal budgets allocation increase in
Bosnia & Herzegovina

-20% 6,431 M euro in 2019. Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Croatia,

North- Macedonia

Bosnia & Herzegovina, Albania, and North

Czech Republic
-

Overall, the CEE region was marked by a

Montenegro

-30% Macedonia. The reduced media budgets were

Total CEE
Romania

Slovenia

stable evolution for TV investments, with

Hungary

Slovakia

Moldova
Bulgaria
Albania

directed toward digital in all countries across

Croatia

Poland

Serbia

-40%
Source: IPG Mediabrands Local agencies

98 99
CEE, with the highest growth in Poland,
Serbia, Slovakia, and Bulgaria. Local print
industries have been deteriorating for years,
readership and advertising budgets shifting
continuously towards the print titles websites
and other digital content sources. The OOH
advertising sector was also severely affected in
2020 as the lower population mobility during
lockdowns and restriction periods impacted the
visibility of the OOH supports and implicitly
the media budgets associated with this media
channel. The shift varied by market, in line
with the length of the restrictions and media
consumption habits changes across different
population groups. the share of TV channels. Considering the entire
In Poland, for example, in 2020, radio and TV
coped better in lockdown reality, reflecting
the smaller budgets reductions of 6% and
respectively 10%, while cinema net ad income
dropped by 75% and OOH lost almost 38%.
Internet was the only medium with a budget
CHART 3: 2020 NET MEDIA MIX (%)
54%
51%
37%
36%
50%
44%
52%
41%
51%
55%
Albania Bosnia & Bulgaria Croatia
Herzegovina
100
increase of 5% as several advertisers moved In the Czech Republic, the media market rating in virtually all time slots with highest
their reduced budgets to online giving this was mainly affected in the spring of 2020 relative YoY growth during the evening news.
medium 40% share (vs. 35% in 2019) in net and throughout the second quarter, while News channels performance increased by 24%
advertising market. The shift in consumers’ in summer on the background of relaxed in avg Rtg%, being the key beneficiaries of
lifestyle increased the already high digital restrictions, the advertising market began to this period. Digital was, of course, the most
development level of the society, and a major function again throughout the rest of the year. dynamic medium driven by a 7% growth of
media consumption shift towards online media Cinema and various events came out worst the daily internet penetration with weekly
was observed in all generations. While average from this situation. As television programs usage for notebook +14% and tablet 22%. The
daily time spent on this medium consumption production was affected by the spring lockdown, mobile internet weekly usage went up by 3%,
increased by over one hour, especially among thus TV channels started to broadcast reruns. with reading magazines and news as well as
Baby Boomers, the daily time of watching TV Sports media channels suffered from a lack of apps usage as main growth triggers. Audio and
has not changed since 2019. The time spent content, while News channels achieved high Video platforms benefited from the lockdown
in front of TV sets did not increase in the performance. Historically, the highest audience and restricted population mobility, achieving
long‑term, and there were no major changes in was experienced by news on ČT24, a new important increase vs. 2019: Youtube (+14%),
channel ČT3 was created, intended primarily Netflix (+185%) and Spotify (+69%).
adult population, radio lost most listeners in the for seniors, and on the children’s channel ČTD: Radio: ATS declined by 26% in 2020 vs. 2019,
morning and late afternoon time-bands, and the a new educational program for primary school with (-22%) listening at home, and (-29%)
highest losses in radio audience occured during pupils “Učítelka” was created. In October, PPF out-of-home listening, generating a decline of
the first lockdown, in spring (2M less / month). completed the takeover of CME television its reach potential. Given the restrictions of
A decline, although not as severe, also took place stations, including the Czech Nova. On May movement and closures of venues, Covid-19 had
during the autumn lockdown. 3, the new news channel CNN Prima News impact mainly on OOH media consumption:
launched. cinema (-52%), fitness centers (-36%), HoReCe
(-27%), as well as outdoor media: public
In Hungary also, the whole media market transport (-13%) and malls (-5%).
TV Digital Print Radio OOH Other was significantly hit by the crisis (-4.2% in
74% 12% 1%2% 10% local currency and -11% in euro), and the In Bulgaria, the media market also suffered
67% 13% 3% 4% 9% 4%
service industry was the most vulnerable and 10% ad investments drop in 2020, TV remained
the lockdown and country closure. Media relatively stable compared to the initial
31% 2% 4% 8% 0%
consumption also changed, the average daily expectations, due to the increased viewership
23% 10% 8% 7% 1% TV viewing time grew both for urban and and the stable budget allocations from
37% 15% 7% 4% 0% national population. Streaming services are the “pharmaceutical” companies and dynamic growth
big winners of the pandemic as cinemas and of online retailers. Digital was the only growing
63% 12% 5% 4% 16% 0%
theatres have been closed and cultural events channel (+4pp) in terms of net ad revenue share,
25% 21% 6% 12% 1% cancelled. The Netflix app became the 6th most while cinema, print, and OOH were the most
21% 8% 3% 18% downloaded application in2020 according to affected channels, with declines between 30%
40% 4% 8% 4%
the Hootsuite Digital report. In 2020, television and 50%. The worst affected product categories
continued to drive the market with 36% of the were “drinks” and “fashion, hobby, travel”.
65% 23% 1% 5% 5%
estimated total media spending, followed by
23% 10% 5% 10% 0% digital (25%), while print, radio and cinema In Romania, the state of emergency in spring
were the worst per forming channels. The top and the partial lockdown proved the strong
42% 6% 4% 7%
advertiser was the Hungarian Government with connection between media consumption and
21% 9% 7% 12% 0%
an investment boost of 50% compared to 2019. lifestyle. As freedom of movement decreased,
22% 3% 5% 14% TV and Digital gained traction while OOH
In Slovakia, TV daily ATS grew to 215 min lost exposure. During the easing of restrictions
(+12% vs. 2019) and TV daily reach grew in summer, TV audiences came down, close
Czech North Hungary Montenegro Poland Romania Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Moldova to 64% (+2% vs. 2019), by achieving higher to 2019, while OOH exposure in Bucharest
Republic Macedonia
101
recorded 2-digit increases vs. last year, from May
to August, only to fall again in autumn. Viewing
featuring as top news in social media. Web traffic
on news sites was as volatile as the audiences of INTERNET USAGE INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY ACROSS THE
behaviors developed in close relationship to a
richer life at home: increasing TV audiences
TV news stations, depending on the overall level
of tension. Video-on-demand web streaming REGION. WORKING, LEARNING AND SHOPPING ONLINE BECAME
in Off Prime Time hours and strong interest
for video streaming, with an increasing share of
decreased after the spring lockdown, but with
smaller differences between highs and lows.
THE NEW NORMAL
content displayed on smart TV. Social platforms Traffic on gaming platforms proved to be even Internet penetration was boosted across the turned more towards online shopping and
and messaging services continued to see high more resilient. region in 2020, as more people worked and food delivery services, habits which they will
usage, with the mass adoption of TikTok learned online. Finally, during lockdowns probably keep partially, when the pandemic is
and mobility restriction periods, people gone.

Chart 5: 2020 GENERAL INTERNET STATISTICS

91%
90%
89%

88%
86%

85%
84%

84%
TV VIEWING BOOSTED DURING PANDEMIC due to extended

81%

81%
80%

79%

79%

79%
75%
74%

74%

72%
71%

71%
71%

71%
70%

67%
traffic restrictions

62%

62%
60%

55%
In most CEE countries, prior to the pandemic, the countries: Slovakia, Croatia, Bosnia &
the TV budget shares tended to be correlated Herzegovina, Bulgaria and North Macedonia
with the daily ATS viewing TV programs. In by 11-13% vs. 2019, while Slovenia, Hungary,
2020, most of the TV audience measurement Romania, Moldova, Czech Republic, Serbia
systems across the region reported significant and Poland increased by up to 10%.

Bosnia &
Herzegovina

Czech
Republic
Albania

Bulgaria

Croatia

Hungary

Montenegro

Poland

Romania

Serbia

Slovakia

Slovenia

Moldova
North
Macedonia
daily ATS (hours/day) increase in most of

Chart 4: 2020 vs. 2019 AVERAGE TIME SPENT VIEWING 18-54 Urban (hours/day)
Source: IPG Mediabrands Local agencies Penetration % (National) Daily Usage (National)
7.3
7.1

7.0
6.6

The countries with the highest internet are by far the Czech Republic (84%), Slovakia
6.6
6.4

6.2
5.8

penetration at national level are Slovakia (91%), (81%) and Hungary (79%). More video and
5.8

5.6

5.6

5.6
5.5
5.4

5.4

5.3

5.2
5.1

Poland (90%), Czech Republic (89%), Slovenia audio content were accessed for information
4.9
4.8

4.4

(88%) and Hungary (86%), followed closely by and entertainment purposes during 2020 and
3.9

3.6
3.6

3.5

Romania (85%) and North Macedonia (84%). more social media was used to stay in touch
3.4
3.1

3.1
2.9
2.7

In terms of internet daily usage, the leaders with family and friends.

Chart 6: 2020 GENERAL FACEBOOK STATISTICS

Croatia

Slovenia

CEE avg
Bulgaria
Herzegovina

Serbia
Hungary

Slovakia

Moldova
Poland

Romania
Czech Republic

Montenegro
North Macedonia
Albania

Bosnia &

1.2 1.5 3.8 1.8 5.2 1.0 6.0 0.3 22.0 11.0 3.2 2.7 1.0 1.5

66%
63%

62%
2019 2020

58%
57%

56%

56%

55%
Source: IPG Mediabrands Local agencies

52%

50%

49%
49%

42%

42%
The higher consumption was driven by several allocation from advertisers, on the contrary,
lockdown periods across the region, as well except Czech Republic, Croatia, Romania,
Bosnia &
Herzegovina

as by an almost perpetual traffic restriction Albania, and Bosnia & Herzegovina, in all

Czech
Republic
Albania

Bulgaria

Croatia

Hungary

Montenegro

Poland

Romania

Serbia

Slovakia

Slovenia

Moldova
North
Macedonia
starting March 2020, still it did not necessary other CEE countries the TV share from the
result in an increase of TV budget shares total net media market dropped marginally
Source: IPG Mediabrands Local agencies % of Population (National) FB Users (M) National
in 2020.

102 103
Interesting shifts happened in Poland with
the use of connected devices by generations.
Generation Z spent more time in front of
laptop screens, which was certainly associated
with the time spent studying online. Mobile
consumption of digital content dropped by
a few minutes, which is also related to the
longer time spent by young people at home.
Millennials also increased the time spent in
front of the computer. Among the Generation X
the changes were not significant. Interestingly,
Baby Boomers have increased the time they
spend using the internet on their smartphones,
which may be related to the greater use of apps
and social media to communicate with family
and friends. Social media became even more
WHAT TO EXPECT IN 2021?
VACCINATION, THE GAME
CHANGER FOR RECOVERY
In the last quarter of 2020, the recovery paused,
as the reopening of economies in summer
triggered a rapid recovery of activity in the
third quarter of 2020 and also a resurgence
of COVID-19 cases, forcing local authorities
to respond with new containment measures
that reduced mobility and slowed activity,
although to a much lesser extent than in the
spring of 2020. At the end of Q1 2021 the
recovery remains uneven across the countries
in the region, while industrial production has
returned to pre-pandemic levels, services are
still contracting.
After the first four months of this year, the
COVID-19 pandemic continues to pose
104
popular during the pandemic, as it helped
people keep in touch with the loved ones.
Generation X used social networks much more
often than in 2019 (from 37% to 48% of people
using it at least several times a day). But the
real conquest of social networks was made by
Baby Boomers. Among them frequent usage
rose from 16% to a staggering 38%. Therefore,
this generation was the main source of new
users of social networks in 2020. New Baby
Boomers appeared especially on Facebook
(share increased from 17% to 27%). On the
other hand, Generation Z and Millennials
dominated Instagram, Snapchat and Tik Tok to
an even greater extent than before.
major challenges, as new infection waves
have afflicted advanced and emerging CEE
economies. Vaccination, a game changer, is
in development, but the pace of progress is
still moderate and varies significantly across
countries. Governments across the region need
to continue supporting populations and private
companies and to adopt measures capable of
stimulating employment and investments.
They also need to reduce missed education once
the pandemic is under control, leading the path
towards a quicker recovery of the economies.
While virus mutations and vaccination delays
could continue to generate social unrest
and a negative medium-term impact on the
economies in the region, speedier vaccine
production and distribution could accelerate
the transition to a post-pandemic world.
SOME LIFESTYLE SHIFTS WILL BE PERMANENT
A major shift that will affect the lifestyle of the
population in our region in the near future
is the remote working introduced during the
pandemic. While remote learning has worsened
the level of education and is resented both
among teachers and students, many employees
liked remote working, and, according to
Euromonitor, 69% of employees worldwide
do not want to go back to their offices for the
entire week. Continuing to work remotely
generates significant changes, such as reducing
impulse shopping opportunities. Traffic will
decrease in business districts, resulting in more
closures in the restaurant sector, but an increase
in catering services and take-away options.
People will also continue to enjoy more home
cooking opportunities. According to the same
study, 54% of the global consumers believe
they can change the world by making the right
purchasing decisions, and this trend is already
here, as during the pandemic we discovered
we could live with fewer products from certain
categories.
New challenges have emerged in which
consumers choose to spend less or not at all on
products and services that were once routine.
After the pandemic, a high share of consumers
will buy more often in physical stores, at least
for certain product segments. Still, a high
share of purchases will still be made online and
consumers will expect rewards for sharing their
data with suppliers.
In Czech Republic, according to a survey by
Kantar, after the end of the pandemic, people
are expected to shop more online, learn more
online, work and establish relationships online.
68% of respondents also think they will stay
at home much more than they did before the
COVID-19 sanitary crisis. Roughly, half of the
respondents believe that everything will return
to normal as it was before the pandemic. It is
estimated that people will be more attracted
by local goods, support local businesses, have
supplies of food and sanitary equipment for
unexpected needs at home, and will pay more
attention to their health.
The “new normal” that will be established
(by the end of 2022, according to Bill Gates)
in our lives, will represent a new start and a
huge challenge for brands too, because they
will need to respond to all these changes. The
new needs born during the pandemic will hold
for longer time, generating new opportunities
for the brands to engage with the consumers
that spend more time at home now. In a
weaker economic context, more consumers
will continue to choose affordable quality and
buy fewer products and only brands with a
clear purpose will gain the trust of engaged
consumers.
The National Bank of Romania expects the
local economy to recover last year’s loss in
the middle of this year and to move to a
surplus of demand in the third quarter. This
means a much better dynamic than previously
anticipated. However, higher demand in the
economy also implies inflationary pressures,
which will be tempered by a lower advance in
consumption and wages.
105
list of abbreviations
• ABCD = ESOMAR Social Grades – a classification system based on socio-economic status, often used to describe • IPG = The Interpublic Group of Companies
a profile of users or target customers
• IPTV = Internet Protocol television
• ADC RO = Art Directors Club Romania
• K = Thousand
• AM = Ante Meridiem
• KPI = Key Performance Indicator
• AR = Augmented Reality
• LCD = Liquid Crystal Display, a type of flat panel display which uses liquid crystals in its primary form of
• ARA = Radio Audience Association operation
• ARIA = Romanian Association for Indoor Advertising • M = Million
• ARMA = Romanian Association for Audience Measurement • Mbps = Megabit per second
• ATS = Average Time Spent • MOAT = Measurement and Operations Analysis Team – an analytics and measurement company that offers
• B = Billion viewability, attention and brand safety solution across display, video, mobile and more
• BRAT = Romanian Joint Industry Committee for Print and Internet • NBR = The National Bank of Romania
• BRIT = Business & Retail Innovation Tracker • OLA = Online Advertising
• CAPI = Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing • OLV = Online Vide
• CEE = Central and Eastern Europe • OOH = Out-Of-Home Advertising
• CME = Central European Media Enterprises • OS = Operating System
• CPM = Cost Per Mille – also known as Cost Per Thousand • Pp = Percentage Point
• CPP = Cost Per Point • Q = Quarter
• CTR = Click-Through Rate • QR = Abbreviated from Quick Response code, a type of matrix barcode
• DOOH = Digital Out-Of-Home • ROI = Return on Investment
• ECB = The European Central Bank • Rtg = Rating
• EST = Estimated • SAO = The Outdoor Audience Measurement Survey
• EU = The European Union • SOA = Share of audience
• FMCG = Fast-Moving Consumer Goods – a category of products with low profit margins and with a short shelf • SATI = Internet Audience and Traffic Measurement – a measurement system developed by the Internet
life because of high consumer demand Department of BRAT
• GBD = Go Beyond Data Research • Shr = Share
• GDP = Gross Domestic Product • SME = Small and Medium-sized Enterprise
• Gen X = The demographic cohort following the baby boomers and preceding the millennials (they were born • SNA FOCUS = National Readership Survey (SNA) and Consumption – Target Group Survey (FOCUS)
between 1965 and 1980) • SOV = Share of Voice
• Gen Y = Aso known as Millennials are the demographic cohort following Generation X and preceding Generation • Sqm = Square meters
Z (they were born between 1981 and 1996)
• TV = Television
• Gen Z = Colloquially also known as zoomers, is the demographic cohort succeeding Millennials and preceding
Generation Alpha (they were born between 1997 and 2015) • UNCTAD = United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
• GPeC = The most important e-commerce and digital marketing event in Romania • VOD = Video on Demand
• GRP = Gross Rating Point • VOIP = Voice over Internet Protocol, also called IP telephony
• GWI = Global Web Index, a market research company • VR = Virtual Reality
• H = Half of a calendar yea • WFH = Work From Home
• HoReCa = The abbreviation used for the food service industry (Hotel, Restaurant, Café) • Y.O. = Years Old
• IMF = International Monetary Fund • YoY = Year over Year – method of measuring statistical changes against the same time period last year
• iOS = The operating system for iPhone, iPad and other Apple mobile devices • YTD = Year to Date refers to the period of time beginning the first day of the current calendar year or fiscal year
up to the current date
• IoT = Internet of Things

106 107
108