Software platform DoubleVerify surveyed 1,970 marketers globally about their attitudes and investment decisions related to news content, with 60 per cent of respondents reporting that inventory in news environments outperforms campaign baselines.
It signals growing confidence in news advertising and the opportunity that news presents for marketers looking for high-performing, cost-effective media. It builds on previous DV research indicating that consumers actively value brands that support news content by advertising alongside it.
The vast majority of marketers do not consider news an unsuitable advertising environment, with most marketers currently investing in news content or intending to do so in the future.
Brands in certain verticals are more likely than others to invest in news content. Concerns about “negative” news and controversial topics are the biggest barriers for additional investment in news environments.
News inventory outperforms other environments
Over half (60 per cent) of marketer respondents said advertising placed in news environments performs better than campaign baselines, and 27 per cent said it performs on par with baselines. Just 11 per cent of respondents found that news inventory performed below average compared with other media.
News environments are considered “suitable” for advertising
A tiny portion of marketers – just 1 per cent – said they consider all types of news content to be unsuitable for advertising, but perspectives on suitability varied slightly depending on adjacency with different types of news content and pages.
Almost all (95 per cent) of marketers said they do not consider it unsuitable for their ads to appear next to “soft” news topics such as sports and entertainment, while 93 per cent said the same about news homepages. Marketers are slightly more cautious about content related to current events and breaking news, however, with 88 per cent and 84 per cent not considering that content unsuitable for advertising, respectively.
The data highlights the need for advertisers to take a nuanced approach to news to capitalise on the opportunity it presents while maintaining their suitability needs.
Most marketers invest in news — or plan to
Just over half (53 per cent) of marketers said they currently invest in news content, and an additional 28 per cent said they intend to in the future. Marketers currently investing in news also said they allocate significant portions of their budgets towards it, spending 28 per cent of their budgets on average.
That finding correlates with trends seen in DV’s data, which suggest that advertiser engagement with news is growing. Impression volume for DV advertisers increased 58 per cent across major news publishers’ sites in the first half of 2025 compared with the same period last year.
Some sectors are more likely to invest in news than others. Marketers in automotive and healthcare & pharmaceuticals, among others, say they advertise alongside news more than marketers in other verticals.
Agencies are more sensitive to controversial topics than brands
Among marketers investing in news, 20 per cent more respondents from agencies said the prospect of appearing alongside controversial topics is a barrier to growing their investment in news. The research also indicated that 16 per cent more agency respondents cited concerns about negative news when compared with brand respondents.
Concern about “negative” news is the biggest barrier to investment
Among marketers who do not currently actively invest in news, respondents said the biggest barrier preventing them from doing so is concern over advertising alongside negative news content.
Similarly, marketers who do invest in news said the most significant factors preventing them from allocating more budget are concerns about appearing alongside negative news or potentially controversial topics.
To address these concerns, DV recently introduced three news-related suitability categories to make it easier than ever for advertisers to invest confidently in news while ensuring their suitability needs are satisfied: Sensitive Breaking News, Current Events and Opinion & Editorial.
The new categories apply DoubleVerify’s advanced AI-classification models to give advertisers unparalleled granularity, flexibility and control, enabling them to open up additional inventory and spend with news publishers and helping them capitalise on the brand-building opportunities news presents.
DoubleVerify is committed to encouraging greater advertiser investment in news content and journalism, and to ensuring that DV’s product innovation continues to support the needs of the news industry. DV’s News Accelerator™ is powering these efforts and is investing in ongoing research highlighting the brand-building opportunities of news content to ensure advertisers have the insights they need to unlock its full potential.
