The latest figures are the first to be published following an industry-wide consultation into how media types are defined
Advertising expenditure in online national news brands is forecast to increase by 2.1% year-on-year in 2026, according to the latest spend report from the Advertising Association and Warc.
The full-year forecast follows Q4 2025 growth for digital news brands, with spend up 2.8% quarter-on-quarter.
The updated data follow a consultation between the Advertising Association, Warc and representative industry bodies including Newsworks. The consultation aimed to ensure media definitions reflect current trading practices and that investment in digital news brands is not duplicated elsewhere in online spend.
Commenting on the figures, Newsworks CEO Jo Allan said: “It’s encouraging that ad spend in digital news brands is forecast to build on last year’s Q4 growth into 2026.
“With the World Cup just around the corner, millions of football fans will be staying engaged with news brands to keep up with the on- and off-pitch drama. Advertisers that invest in news can benefit from that highly attentive audience.”
Heather Dansie, Newsworks research and insight director, added: “The deduplication of digital adspend data means we now have greater clarity on all media’s contributions to online advertising.
“This positive step ensures advertisers’ investment in high-attention quality journalism is measured separately from lower-attention environments in the long tail of the internet.”
