Advertising spending on digital TV in March was a standout, with over 6.5 billion baht, amid decreasing value in traditional channel, cable and satellite platforms.
According to Nielsen Thailand, overall media spending in March stood at 24.6 billion baht, down from last year's 26.5 billion baht by 6.86%, but digital TV was the best performer among media outlets.
The biggest drop in ad spending was the magazine sector, down by 37.8% to 323 million baht, followed by newspapers, which fell 28.9% to 1.45 billion baht, and cable and satellite TV, which dipped 26.6% to 585 million.
The most successful media outlets in March were digital TV, where ad spending rose by 21.2% to 6.53 billion baht, followed by outdoor, which climbed 9.81% to 1.63 billion.
Cinema media recorded 9.46% growth to 1.71 billion.
Advertising spending on digital TV during the first three months increased by over 1 billion baht compared with the same period last year on the back of an economic recovery after two years of mourning and the popularity of BEC World's Channel 3 Thai series Love Destiny.
BBTV's Channel 7 ranked first among digital TV operators in terms of viewership in March, followed by BEC World's Channel3 HD, Mono29, WorkPointTV, RS's Channel8 and GMM Grammy's ONE HD, according to the latest report by Nielsen Thailand.
Pawat Ruangdejworachai, media director of researcher Media Intelligence, said digital TV is still powerful in terms of mass audience engagement, with some channels designed for mass spectators, with others designed for city dwellers, but traditional media is still effective.
Mr Pawat predicted Thai media expenditure to rebound by 6% to reach 91 billion baht this year on the back of growing online and out-of-home media outlets as well as a positive outlook expected for Thailand's economy.
"Total media spending will be around 91 billion baht, increasing 6% from last year, which was considered the worst in the media industry since 2010," he said.
According to the Nielsen report, online media expenditure this year decreased by 5.14% to 351 million baht from 370 million in the same period last year.
Mr Pawat said the top five sectors for advertising spending in January and February were home shopping, followed by government, beverages, pickups, and telecommunications.