Observed Signal · Oct 20, 2026 · Report · Source: Horizont · Impact: 3/5 · Sentiment: Negative
Streaming Booms but Ad Money Goes to Big Tech
The German media association Vaunet published its autumn forecast, projecting that in 2026, for the first time, more than half of audio and video revenues will come from streaming services. The overall market is growing, but the advertising revenue in the booming digital sector is mainly going to large tech platforms. According to Vaunet's calculations, 72% of the total €2.5 billion in video streaming ad revenue is already captured by Alphabet, Amazon, ByteDance, and Meta. This trend highlights the growing dominance of global platforms over domestic German media companies.
Shows the growing dominance of global tech platforms over domestic media in ad revenue, a key trend for the adtech industry.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Vaunet projects that in 2026, more than half of audio and video revenues in Germany will come from streaming.
- 72% of the €2.5 billion video streaming ad revenue in Germany goes to Alphabet, Amazon, ByteDance, and Meta.
- The German media market is growing, but domestic players are not benefiting equally from digital ad growth.
- Vaunet's autumn forecast highlights the increasing dominance of global tech platforms in the German advertising market.
Connected Companies & Entities
4 Entities mapped“Alphabet is one of the tech platforms capturing a significant share of the video streaming ad revenue.”
“Amazon is one of the tech platforms capturing a significant share of the video streaming ad revenue.”
“ByteDance is one of the tech platforms capturing a significant share of the video streaming ad revenue.”
“Meta is one of the tech platforms capturing a significant share of the video streaming ad revenue.”
Ontology Mapping & Concepts
Related Market Signals & Shifts
Recent verified developments and strategic activity across this market segment.
Google, Amazon, Meta Dominate Germany's Ad Market Growth
An analysis by German trade group Die Mediaagenturen finds the German advertising market grew to €30.9 billion in 2025, a 4.9% increase versus 2024. Digital now accounts for about 69% of total ad revenues. Global platforms—Google, Amazon and Meta—capture roughly 72% of digital ad investments and 49.3% of the overall German net advertising market in 2025, meaning nearly every second euro goes to this trio. Video formats (notably in‑stream) and retail media are major growth drivers; retail media reached €3.3 billion with non‑Amazon growth of 25%. The report warns that rising platform concentration reduces the share flowing to German TV broadcasters and print publishers, posing strategic challenges for agencies and domestic media owners.
Big Tech Captures Majority of $1.2T Global Ad Market
A WARC-backed analysis reported by State of Streaming finds global advertising spending reaching nearly $1.2 trillion in 2025 and projected to hit about $1.4 trillion by 2027. The growth is concentrated in a few major technology platforms: Alphabet, Amazon and Meta are expected to capture roughly 59% of the global (ex‑China) ad market by 2027. The study and coverage argue that large R&D and product reinvestment by these platforms (a self‑reinforcing “flywheel”) is drawing incremental ad dollars, while the open web and independent publishers face declining revenues — including a multi‑year downturn for Google’s Display Network. Shrinking intermediary fee layers also mean a larger share of advertiser spend flows directly to the dominant platforms. Major events (e.g., FIFA World Cup, U.S. elections) will likely amplify platform concentration.
US Firms Capture 80% of Europe's Streaming Revenue
A January 28, 2026 report finds US-backed companies — led by platforms such as Netflix and YouTube — now account for over 80% of Europe’s video subscription and online ad revenue. While European-owned groups still represent 56% of revenues across the top 100 audiovisual firms, their share has fallen 11 percentage points since 2016; US players increased their share by 9 percentage points in the same period, driven largely by pure-play streaming services and video platforms. The study notes legacy European broadcasters remain concentrated in declining traditional TV ad formats, while YouTube’s online ad business is approaching parity with the entire traditional TV ad market.
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