Broadcasting and Telecommunications Advertising Expenses in 2021 Reach 15.5 Trillion Won, Up 9.9% Year-on-Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] In 2021, broadcasting and online advertising expenditures in South Korea both increased, resulting in nearly a 10% rise compared to the previous year.

The Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Broadcast Advertising Corporation announced on the 13th that domestic broadcasting and telecommunications advertising expenditures in 2021 totaled 15.5174 trillion KRW, a 9.9% increase from the previous year. This is analyzed as a base effect from the stagnation of advertising expenditures in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by a rebound the next year.

Breaking down the 2021 advertising expenditures by media, online advertising accounted for 8.0036 trillion KRW, making up 51.6%, followed by broadcasting advertising at 4.0531 trillion KRW (26.1%), print advertising at 2.0208 trillion KRW (13%), and outdoor advertising at 930.2 billion KRW (6%). Broadcasting advertising increased by 16.3% compared to 2020, while online advertising grew by 6.3%.

By broadcasting operators, advertising on terrestrial TV reached 1.3597 trillion KRW, up 22.9% from the previous year, and broadcasting channel usage operators (PP) recorded 2.1824 trillion KRW, a 15.4% increase.

The Ministry of Science and ICT explained that the introduction of mid-roll advertisements and the Tokyo Olympics special contributed to the increase in advertising expenditures for most broadcasting operators, including IPTV and radio.

On the other hand, advertising for comprehensive cable TV operators (SO) and satellite broadcasting decreased by 4.8% and 0.7%, respectively, compared to the previous year.

Last year, the growth rate for broadcasting advertising was forecasted at 4.7%.

Online advertising, which had recorded double-digit growth rates annually since 2018, increased by 6.3% last year, dropping to a single-digit growth rate. This year’s growth rate is expected to decline further to 0.2%.

Mobile advertising amounted to 6.2239 trillion KRW, a 9.4% increase from the previous year, but PC advertising expenditures decreased by 3.2% to 1.7797 trillion KRW.

Newspaper advertising increased by 7.2% to 1.7081 trillion KRW compared to the previous year, while magazine advertising decreased by 4.3%.