German ad market grows 0.9% in August as online rises 14.7%, Nielsen says

The German ad market took €2.39 billion of gross advertising spend in August 2026, according to Nielsen’s monthly data for Germany. That is 0.9% more than a year earlier. Online advertising rose 14.7% to €404.9 million, while TV fell 4.9% to €976.9 million.

Nielsen measures gross spend, meaning list prices before discounts and barter deals, as trade title Meedia pointed out. The real money that changes hands is lower. Gross data still shows where budgets are moving from month to month.

TV stayed under €1 billion in August for the second time this year

TV remains the largest medium in Germany, but August was only the second month this year below €1 billion, Meedia reported. Radio fell 5.5% on the year to €128.6 million. Newspapers grew 2.5% to €441.6 million, while consumer magazines lost 5.4% and took €152.1 million. Out-of-home advertising rose 8.4% to €272.9 million. Cinema was small but grew fastest, up 54.7% to €12.1 million.

Online spend is up 16.9% in the first eight months

From January to August, total gross spend reached €21.6 billion, up 1.6%, according to Nielsen’s Germany data page. TV took €9.29 billion, 42.9% of the total, and fell 2.3%. Online grew 16.9% to €3.53 billion, and out-of-home grew 5.8% to €2.34 billion.

Procter & Gamble was the biggest advertiser with €1.07 billion, down 3.8%. Two big spenders grew fast: Deutsche Telekom rose 70.2% and Kaufland 31.6%. Lidl cut its spend by 17.7% and REWE by 10.6%. German firms are also moving more marketing work in-house, which does not show up in gross media data.

Germany’s pattern matches other markets

The shift from TV and print to online is not unique to Germany. In the US, the IAB has raised its 2026 ad spend forecast on the back of digital channels. Nielsen’s figures put a price on that shift in Germany. In the first eight months, online added about €510 million compared with the same period of 2025, while TV lost about €220 million.