Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Jun 17
eMarketer Cuts UK 2027 Digital Ad Forecast by £1.3 Billion to £17 Billion on Under-16 Ban
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Jun 17

eMarketer Cuts UK 2027 Digital Ad Forecast by £1.3 Billion to £17 Billion on Under-16 Ban

1 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jun 17

Summary

  • £1.3 billion was cut from eMarketer’s 2027 UK digital ad forecast, lowering it to £17 billion as a social media ban for under-16s is set to take effect early next year.
  • Millions of under-16s would effectively vanish as targetable users on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube, prompting brands to rework campaigns and pause spending while rules bed in.
  • 27 million UK viewers now use ad-supported subscriptions on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+, giving streaming services and some family-event TV programming a likely share of displaced budgets.
  • eMarketer expects the hit to be concentrated in the first year, with growth rebounding later as platforms pivot harder to adult users, creator-led discovery, private messaging and commerce formats.

Insights

How will advertisers recapture a billion-pound youth market now that social media platforms are off-limits for UK teens?
Will the UK's social media ban truly protect children or create new data privacy risks through mandatory age verification?