TV Advertising Returns to Growth in UK

Image source: Santiago Avila Caro via Unsplash

Despite a challenging macro-economic environment, TV advertising investment in the UK returned to growth in 2024, increasing by 3.8% to a total of £5.27 billion.

The 2024 total TV advertising revenue figure of £5.27 billion breaks down as follows:

Total Broadcaster = £5.04 billion (up from £4.98 billion in 2023, an increase of £51.8 million)

Total SVOD / AVOD / FAST = £236 million (up from £96 million in 2023, an increase of £140 million)

Alongside the advertising revenue figures provided by the UK’s commercial broadcasters, which collectively accounted for 95.5% of total TV advertising revenue, this is the first time the incremental advertising revenues from recently launched forms of commercial TV – such as the ad tiers on Disney+, Netflix, and Prime Video – have been calculated and reported.

2024’s total TV advertising figure incorporates advertising investment in:

Broadcaster TV:

- Channel 4, ITV, Sky, UKTV (all investment across linear and on-demand services)

Ad-supported SVOD / AVOD / FAST, including:

- Discovery+, Disney+, Netflix, Prime Video, Vevo

TV is the greatest driver of advertising-generated profit

The growth in TV advertising follows the publication in 2024 of Profit Ability 2, a study of £1.8 billion of advertising investment across all major forms of advertising. The study found that TV advertising is the greatest driver of profit.

Overall, TV is responsible for 54.7% of advertising-generated profit, with an average full profit ROI of £5.61 for every pound spent. By comparison, Online Video (mostly YouTube) accounts for 3.4% of full advertising-generated profit with an average profit ROI of £3.86

Analysis of the data behind Profit Ability 2 also concluded that social media – such as Meta’s platforms – is significantly over-invested in by bigger brands.

FMCG boosted TV spend by £67 million in 2024

According to data from Nielsen Ad Intel, which measures linear TV ad spend but is reflective of the overall TV market, the largest increase in TV advertising investment in 2024 came from Household FMCG brands, who increased their investment in TV by £67 million (up 22%) to a total of £368.9 million.

Other notable increases came from Retail, which strengthened its commitment to TV with an increase of £52.4 million (up 27%), and Business and Industrial, which increased by £21.8 million (up 21%).

932 new advertisers on TV in 2024

Data from Nielsen Ad Intel and the commercial broadcasters show that, in 2024, 932 businesses invested in Broadcaster TV advertising for the first time, or returned after 5+ years away – up from 791 in 2023.

New-to-TV advertisers constituted £124.9 million of new spend in 2024. New faces on TV included Avios, Alibaba, Allianz Insurance and 929 other companies that don’t all start with the letter A.

Lindsey Clay, Thinkbox CEO said, “Commercial TV is transforming and growing, with more opportunities than ever for businesses to advertise in its high-quality, high-attention, highly effective environments. This growth is being fuelled by innovation across the TV companies, offering data-driven solutions together with culture-shaping content and a creative canvas that is unmatched anywhere in media.

“2024 was a tough year for businesses, and 2025 is looking even more uncertain. Brands need safe havens at a time like this, places they can rely on to deliver, defend their price premiums, and help them be as resilient as possible. TV is proven to be the safest place a brand can be.”