German digital ad market forecast raised for 2026

The German Online-Vermarkterkreis (OVK) within the BVDW has significantly raised its forecast for digital advertising revenue in Germany for 2026, now expecting net revenues of nearly €9 billion, a growth of 13.8%, up from a spring forecast of 8.7%. The upward revision is partly due to an expanded data basis including Connected TV and streaming advertising. First-half revenues grew 12% in Q1 and 15% in Q2. Digital video will account for €4.8 billion (53% of the market), and programmatic buying is expected to reach €7.1 billion (78%). The report highlights the rise of agentic advertising, with Amazon and Meta enabling AI agents to manage campaigns, and notes the impact of generative AI on publishers, including reduced direct traffic from AI-driven search summaries. A BVDW trend monitor shows agencies expect search marketing relevance to decline from 77% to 39% over five years.