Google and Facebook now control 20% of global adspend

This is a rise from 11% in 2012, according to the new edition of Zenith’s Top Thirty Global Media Owners, a ranking of the world’s largest media companies, published since 2007. The report also revealed that the two companies captured 64% of all the growth in global adspend between 2012 and 2016. 

Google, under its holding company Alphabet, is the largest media owner in the world, attracting $79.4bn in ad revenue in 2016. This is three times more than the second largest, Facebook, which attracted $26.9bn. The largest traditional media owner is Comcast, taking $12.9bn in ad revenue.

The fastest-growing media owner featured in the report is Twitter, which increased its ad revenues by 734% between 2012 and 2016. Tencent is second, having grown by 697% over that period, and Facebook is third, with 528% growth.

The majority of the media owners – 20 of the 30 – in the ranking are based in the US. 

“The scale of the biggest platforms highlights the importance of building strong partnerships between agencies and media owners,” said Vittorio Bonori, Zenith’s global brand president.

“Brands need to deal with these platforms to communicate with consumers effectively and efficiently, and agencies need to ensure they do so on the best terms available.”