The Media Market in Croatia 2023

The biggest event in 2023 was the sale of Slovak media holding JOJ Media House's share in Novi list, the publisher of three local papers – Novi list, Glas Istre, and Zadarski List – to the locally owned Media Solutions, publisher of the local paper Glas Slavonije.

JOJ cited high paper and energy costs as reasons for the sale and the subsequent planned consolidation. However, the strong ties between the owners of Media Solutions and the ruling party, HDZ, led the Croatian Journalists Association to criticize this as an attempt to politically control the local press. This is particularly sensitive since 2024 is a super-election year in Croatia, with parliamentary elections scheduled for April, EU elections in June, and presidential elections due in December (Reuters Institute Digital News Report).

The local media market grew by 15% in 2023 and is now estimated at a total of €337 million. HURA (Croatian Association of Advertising Agencies) established IAB Croatia (both organizations have the same leadership) and decided to publish advertising expenditure only for offline media. IAB Croatia will publish online AdEx, which includes all online media buying, not just through agencies. Combining these two sources, online media holds the highest share at 39%, followed by TV with 38%. However, no large media agency in the Croatian market has a larger digital budget compared to TV budgets. Out-of-home (OOH) media is third with a 12% share and 28% growth, while radio is fourth with steady single-digit growth. Print continues to decline year over year, estimated at €15 million in 2023.

There were no significant changes in the local media market except in OOH. In 2023, a large number of smaller digital out-of-home (DOOH) providers (with 1 to 10 locations/screens) entered the market. These providers are all focused on road advertising (to passengers and vehicle drivers) and none can challenge the three main players in DOOH (Go2Digital, Europlakat, Frkaplus). Interestingly, there has not been a new classic OOH format erected in 2023 (such as billboards or Citylights).

Distribution of advertising spending by media types (2023 net, eur M)