Nielsen’s 2025 Global Media Planning Report just landed, and it paints a clear picture: media planning in 2025 is more complex than ever—but that’s not a problem if you know where to look.
The report digs into three big trends changing the way brands reach people: mixing traditional and digital channels, the rise of retail media, and the growing gap between how different generations consume content.
1. Traditional TV still holds strong, depending on where you look
Streaming continues to grow, especially in markets like the U.S. where it makes up 40% of total TV time. But traditional TV isn’t being left behind.
In Poland, for example, only 8% of total TV time was spent streaming in the first half of 2024. That’s a sharp contrast—and a reminder that global strategies need to be customized by market.
“While the channel mix becomes more complex, balancing investment across traditional and emerging channels is difficult but necessary,” the report states.
Alison Gensheimer, Nielsen’s Head of Global Marketing, put it this way:
“Platform convergence is creating new opportunities for advertisers to effectively reach their audiences. The challenge is knowing how to use that mix to create real engagement.”
2. Retail media is growing—but it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution
Retail media—ads placed directly on e-commerce platforms or retailer sites—is grabbing a larger slice of budgets. In Japan, Amazon’s retail media ad spend rose steadily month over month from August to December 2024.
But not every brand is jumping in equally. In the UK, about 33% of top electronics advertisers allocated 20% of their budgets to Amazon, while many top cosmetics brands barely spent anything there.
“Retail media offers advertisers and publishers another channel to utilize beyond traditional digital and offline platforms,” Nielsen notes. But it also warns that success depends heavily on industry, audience, and how the channel is used.
3. Age still matters when it comes to screen time
Media habits look wildly different across generations. In the U.S., people aged 2–34 spend over 60% of their TV time on streaming. Older viewers, on the other hand, still prefer linear TV—with those 65 and up spending about 75% of their viewing time on traditional broadcasts.
In Thailand, the same generational divide plays out. Gen Z has the lowest traditional TV use (47%), while the 55+ group leads with 62%.
This doesn’t just impact where content is watched—it affects how it’s produced, distributed, and monetized. Streaming-first audiences expect mobile-friendly formats and personalized algorithms, while older generations remain loyal to the old ways.
What marketers should take away from all this
The main thread running through the report is that there’s no universal strategy anymore. Brands have to be nimble, adapt to local trends, and stay in tune with how different people consume content.
Whether it’s retail media, streaming, or traditional TV, every channel still has a role to play. It’s about building the right mix for your audience, not chasing headlines.
Download the full report here: Nielsen’s 2025 Global Media Planning Report
