Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Malaysia’s total advertising expenditure (adex) declined sharply in calendar year 2025 (CY25), coming in at RM4.74 billion, a 22% year-on-year (YoY) contraction, according to a new market note by Kenanga Research. The outcome was broadly in line with market expectations and represented 97% of full-year forecasts.
The weakness was broad-based across most media segments, reflecting ongoing structural shifts in advertising spend as well as softer economic and consumer sentiment. Free-to-air (FTA) television and digital advertising were among the most affected categories.
Free-to-air television leads decline
The free-to-air (FTA) TV segment recorded a 19% YoY decline in adex, driven primarily by steep contractions at several networks. NTV7’s adex fell 44% YoY, while Awesome TV saw an 82% YoY decline.
The sharp fall at Awesome TV was likely influenced by the cessation of its broadcast on one of Malaysia’s major distribution platforms, Astro, since August 2024. In addition, the network was involved in legal actions and public disputes in August 2025 related to alleged unpaid obligations to local content producers and artistes, developments that may have weighed on advertiser sentiment.
Overall, adex for Media Prima’s FTA channels softened by 7% YoY, mainly due to weaker contributions from NTV7 and TV9. Combined with declines in its print segment, Media Prima’s total adex fell 7% YoY in CY25.
Digital advertising continues to contract
Digital advertising expenditure (digidex) recorded a sharp 39% YoY contraction in CY25, compounding overall industry weakness. The decline was largely driven by reduced advertising spend on YouTube, which also fell 39% YoY.
YouTube’s adex has now declined for nine consecutive quarters, reaching RM95.5 million in 4QCY25, approximately 25% of its peak level in 4QCY23. The contraction is believed to reflect intensifying competition from other digital platforms such as social media, search engines and live commerce channels.
Industry observers also noted that YouTube’s ad inventory has increasingly shifted towards mobile and smart TV applications to align with changing consumption habits. Nielsen Malaysia’s digidex tracking captures only display and video advertisements on desktop and mobile web pages, excluding in-app placements.
Auto advertising offers limited relief
Within the digital segment, ad revenue at leading automotive website Paul Tan’s also declined on a year-to-date basis, despite a temporary uplift in the fourth quarter. The site recorded a 19% quarter-on-quarter increase in adex in 4QCY25, driven by promotional spending related to new vehicle launches such as the Perodua QV-E, Proton e.MAS 5, updated Proton Saga, iCAUR V23 and Suzuki Fronx.
Despite the year-end improvement, full-year adex at paultan.org still fell 51% YoY, reflecting subdued consumer sentiment that constrained automakers’ advertising budgets. The fourth quarter accounted for approximately 30% of the site’s total annual adex.
Newspapers and print media remain under pressure
Newspaper adex declined 12% YoY in CY25, with The Star accounting for the largest share of the contraction, recording a 42% YoY decline.
Across publishers, Media Chinese International’s newspaper adex fell 40% YoY, largely due to weakness at Sin Chew Daily, while Media Prima’s newspaper adex declined 8% YoY, weighed down by Harian Metro and, to a lesser extent, the New Straits Times.
A similar pattern was observed at Star Media Group, where weaker adex across both thestar.com.my and The Star newspaper contributed to a 23% YoY decline in total group adex.
Lessons from global media consolidation
The ongoing bidding war between Netflix and Paramount Global for assets of Warner Bros. Discovery has highlighted two key themes for traditional Malaysian media companies: the strategic importance of intellectual property (IP) ownership and the need for scale.
Netflix’s interest in Warner Bros.’ film and television studios, including HBO, while excluding its linear TV networks, underscores the value placed on proprietary content libraries. Meanwhile, Paramount’s counterbid for broadcasting assets illustrates how legacy players may seek scale and cost synergies through consolidation.
For local incumbents such as Media Prima and Astro, these developments point to the importance of expanding proprietary IP portfolios and strengthening brand franchises, even as large-scale mergers and acquisitions remain unlikely in the near term.
Growing focus on local content and IP
Media Prima and Astro have been increasing investments in homegrown content through their production arms, Primeworks Studios and Astro Shaw. These studios have produced several recent box-office successes, including the Polis Evo franchise, Ejen Ali and Papa Zola The Movie.
Papa Zola The Movie has grossed approximately RM60 million at the Malaysian box office as at 15 January and has maintained the top box-office position for five consecutive weeks, surpassing the total collection of Ejen Ali The Movie 2.
Astro Shaw captured a dominant 71% share of the Malaysian box office in 2024, highlighting the commercial potential of locally produced content. Its performance reflects a structural advantage in understanding local cultural nuances, vernacular and audience preferences, areas where global studios and international streaming platforms often face challenges.
Despite recent successes, IP monetisation remains at an early stage. IP-related revenue contributed approximately 5% of Media Prima’s FY25 revenue, while Astro’s FY25 gross box-office collections of RM121 million accounted for about 4% of group revenue.
Outlook remains challenging for FY26
Looking ahead, advertising expenditure is forecast to decline further in FY26, with total adex expected to fall to RM4.24 billion, representing a 9.5% YoY contraction. Declines are projected across all major segments, including FTA TV, newspapers, magazines, radio, cinema and digital advertising.
The pace of contraction is expected to moderate, supported by a low base effect and an anticipated increase in marketing activity around major sporting events in 2026, including SUKMA Selangor, the FIFA World Cup and the Winter Olympics.
