PQ Media: Global DooH Ad Spending Rose 12% in 2025, Fourth Straight Year of Double-Digit Growth
2026-09-07 · via invidis
Global spending on digital out-of-home advertising rose 12 percent in 2025, according to new research from PQ Media, marking the fourth consecutive year of double-digit growth for the category. Traditional out-of-home formats, including static billboards, posters and ambient media, grew a more modest 4.1 percent, while combined digital and traditional OoH spending increased 6.8 percent for the year.
For operators and media owners running digital screens, the figures confirm a trend that has been building for years: digital formats are steadily eating into the share once held by static out-of-home media. PQ Media points to Australia as a notable example, where digital formats now account for more than half of total OoH spending, a threshold other markets are likely tracking toward at different speeds.
The research firm expects another double-digit increase in DooH spending in 2026. PQ Media attributes this outlook partly to a heavy events calendar, including the Winter Olympics in Italy and the FIFA World Cup being held across Canada, Mexico and the United States, plus elections scheduled in more than 50 countries. Major sporting and political events have historically been reliable drivers of out-of-home ad bookings, and PQ Media's forecast suggests 2026 will follow that pattern.
PQ Media also credits ongoing improvements in programmatic buying tools, artificial intelligence and other smart technologies as factors that should support continued market growth. Those tools have been a recurring theme in DooH industry discussion for several years now, as networks push to make screen inventory easier to buy and measure at scale, closer to how digital display advertising is transacted online. The announcement does not detail which specific programmatic platforms or AI applications are driving this growth, nor does it break out how much of the 12 percent increase is attributable to pricing versus new screen deployment.
On the downside, PQ Media flags economic and geopolitical uncertainty as a continuing risk to growth, without elaborating on specific markets or scenarios of concern.
The underlying report, PQ Media's Global Digital Out-of-Home Media Forecast 2026-2030, covers 20 countries across the Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa. It spans roadside, cinema, retail, transit, healthcare, sports and entertainment, and corporate and education environments, with historical data from 2020 to 2025, 2026 estimates and forecasts through 2030. The report also compares audience exposure time and growth rates by country, platform and location, though the announcement does not disclose specific figures beyond the headline growth rates.
For anyone buying or selling screen inventory, the consistent double-digit growth trend adds weight to the case that digital is no longer the smaller half of the out-of-home business in many markets. The report does not say how PQ Media's 2025 estimate compares to its own prior-year forecasts, so how accurate this outlook proves will only be clear with hindsight.
The announcement in full
Reproduced from invidis for reference. Digital Signage Magazine did not write the text below.
Digital out-of-home recorded its fourth consecutive year of double-digit growth, while total OoH spending increased 6.8 percent, according to PQ Media.
Global DooH advertising spending increased 12 percent in 2025, marking its fourth consecutive year of double-digit growth. Traditional OoH spending, including static billboards, posters and ambient media, rose 4.1 percent. Combined spending across digital and traditional OoH increased 6.8 percent during the year.
Digital billboards and signage, along with place-based video networks, are taking a larger share of the overall market. In Australia, for example, digital formats now account for more than half of total OoH spending.
PQ Media projects DooH to record another double-digit increase in 2026, supported by major events including the Winter Olympics in Italy and the Fifa World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the United States. PQ Media also expects elections in more than 50 countries to contribute to advertising demand.
Improved programmatic buying tools, artificial intelligence and smart technologies are among the factors expected to support further market development. Economic and geopolitical uncertainty, meanwhile, remain potential obstacles to growth.
PQ Media’s Global Digital Out-of-Home Media Forecast 2026-2030 includes these findings and tracks advertising spending and consumer exposure time across digital and traditional OoH formats.
Research covers roadside, cinema, retail, transit, healthcare, sports and entertainment, and corporate and education environments. It includes market data for 20 countries across the Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa.
The report provides historical data from 2020 to 2025, estimates for 2026 and forecasts through 2030. It also compares digital and traditional media spending, audience exposure and growth rates by country, platform and location.