SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
The Dutch TV advertising market is shrinking, and this might be due to a decline in demand for gambling ads, according to research agency Screenforce.
In total, the spend on TV advertising in the Netherlands was around €426m for H1 of this year, which is 3% less than the previous corresponding period.
As per Screenforce data, commercial ads remain the largest segment of the whole TV advertising market, accounting for a total of €374m in the first half of this year – which is 4.1% less than H1 2023.
Last year, the Dutch Parliament introduced a ban on nearly all forms of gambling advertising, including mediums like radio, print and TV.
A gambling ad prohibition on online media channels is yet to be implemented, but the State Secretary for Legal Protection Teun Struycken is increasingly being pressured to finalise and adopt the motion.
Meanwhile, Screenforce also reported that ‘non-spot advertisements’ such as program sponsorship and product placement grew by 2% to €52m.
There now also appears to be more eyes directed towards the TV screen, with an average of 130 minutes of screentime between January and June. This represents a 1.5% decrease to 2023, however, numbers saw a 7% drop when comparing 2023 to 2022.
Commenting on the audience data, Michel van der Voort, Director of Screenforce, said: “Of course, the spending in the first half of this year disappoints us, and yet I am cautiously optimistic about the entire year. After this sports summer, we will be able to report a nice viewing time over the third quarter.”
