Transparency International Georgia is traditionally looking at the advertising market and examining the state of the television and radio market in 2019. The report also reviews the conditions, challenges and expectations for the first quarter of the 2020 advertising market under the new coronavirus.

The key findings of the report are as follows:

• The total revenue of television channels in 2019, in comparison with the previous year, increased by 11.3 million GEL (13.9%). Nevertheless, without the donations made by the owners of the new Mtavari Arkhi and Formula channels, or the loans allocated to the television channels, the decrease in the overall revenue of the television channels as a whole would have been considerable.
• Television advertising revenue (which includes advertising, sponsorship, product placement, teleshopping and announcements) in 2019, in comparison to the previous year, decreased by 8.2 million GEL (10.9%) to 67.5 million GEL. The advertising market has been on a downward trend since 2016.
• In 2019, Rustavi 2 suffered the biggest loss in advertising revenue. In total, in comparison to 2018, Rustavi 2 received 8.3 million GEL (27.2%) less in revenue. The suspension of public policy programs on Rustavi 2 was the main reason in the decline of advertising revenue.
• In 2019, Imedi TV emerged as the uncontested leader in advertising revenues. It received a total of GEL 28.8 million in advertising revenue with the television channels that are part of the holding company. That is equivalent to 42.8% of the total market, which is 5.8% more than in 2018. Rustavi 2 TV is on the second place with its market share reduced to 32.8%. Pirveli TV is on the third place with 5.6%.
• The first months of the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic have severely impacted the advertising market, especially the regional televisions and broadcasters that receive most of its advertisement orders from Georgian companies.
• Advertisement fell by 4.1% in March compared to the same month last year.
• Advertising revenues for radio in 2019, as compared to 2018, increased by 192,000 GEL (2.2%), whereas total revenues fell by 174,000 GEL (1.8%). Fortuna is the most profitable holding company among the radio stations in terms of advertisement revenue (GEL 5 million).