Media, Publishing & Advertising

Broadcasters, publishers, ad agencies and ad-tech platforms.

Companies

With a moat

18%

Average quality

1 wide moat · 17 narrow moat · 81 no moat · Open in screener →

Updated 27 Sep 2026

Media, Publishing & Advertising covers broadcasters, newspaper and book publishers, advertising agencies and advertising-technology platforms. MoatScope covers 103 companies here. One has a wide moat, 19 a narrow moat and 83 none.

How the industry makes money

Revenue comes from advertising, subscriptions, the fees cable and streaming distributors pay broadcasters, agency fees and the share of ad spending that technology platforms take for placing ads.

Where the moats are

Intangible assets such as brands and content appear in 12 of the 20 moat-rated companies, and network effects in 11, mostly at ad-technology platforms that connect advertisers with publishers.

The New York Times: one of the few news organizations to build a large, profitable digital subscription business.

The narrow-moat group includes AppLovin, The Trade Desk, DoubleVerify, Fox, News Corp, Nexstar and WPP. Companies without a moat include Omnicom, Advantage Solutions and IAC.

What wears moats down

Audiences keep moving to streaming and social platforms, advertising budgets follow them to the largest digital platforms, and fewer pay-television subscribers mean smaller distribution fees. Agencies face clients that automate or bring their buying in house.

What to watch

Digital subscription growth.
The advertising cycle and political ad spending.
Distribution fees as pay-television subscribers decline.

Moat ratings and quality scores on this page update as companies report. Price versus fair value for every company in the industry is in the screener.

Markets

MoatScope splits Media, Publishing & Advertising into 5 markets. Each table ranks the businesses in one market by revenue and shows each one's share of the market's total: companies filed under this industry, the segments of companies filed elsewhere that compete in it, and the largest companies MoatScope doesn't cover, such as private companies and companies listed outside the US. Each market's total comes from a cited source and covers the geography its businesses compete in (a national market counts only US revenue). A company that runs several businesses is split by the segments it reports.

Advertising & marketing services

Ad agencies, media buying, marketing and merchandising services.

Global market · $158.8B total revenue in 2025 · source: Ad Age Agency Report 2026. Shares are of the whole market, including companies MoatScope doesn't cover; company revenue is for the fiscal year closest to 2025. The 25 largest agency companies (Ad Age), so smaller agencies are missing and shares read high.

#	Business	Market share	Revenue
1	Accenture Song Not covered by MoatScope · Ad Age Agency Report 2026	12.6%	$20.0B
2	Publicis Groupe Listed outside the US (Euronext Paris) · Ad Age Agency Report 2026	12.4%	$19.7B
3	OMC · OMNICOM GROUP INC.	10.9%	$17.3B
4	WPP · WPP plc	10.8%	$17.2B
5	Dentsu Group Listed outside the US (TSE) · Ad Age Agency Report 2026	6.0%	$9.6B
6	BlueFocus Communication Listed outside the US (SZSE) · Ad Age Agency Report 2026	6.0%	$9.6B
7	Hakuhodo DY Holdings Listed outside the US (TSE) · Ad Age Agency Report 2026	3.7%	$5.9B
8	ADV · Advantage Solutions Inc.	2.2%	$3.5B
9	Havas Listed outside the US (Euronext Amsterdam) · Ad Age Agency Report 2026	2.1%	$3.3B
10	STGW · Stagwell Inc	1.8%	$2.9B
	All other companies	28.1%	$44.6B

Ad-tech platforms

Software that buys, sells and measures digital ads.

11 businesses MoatScope covers, ranked by revenue. No reliable figure for this market's total yet, so shares aren't shown.

#	Business	Revenue
1	APP · AppLovin Corp	$5.5B
2	TTD · Trade Desk, Inc.	$2.9B
3	CRTO · Criteo S.A.	$1.9B
4	TEAD · Teads Holding Co.	$1.3B
5	DV · DoubleVerify Holdings, Inc.	$748M
6	MGNI · MAGNITE, INC.	$714M
7	PERI · Perion Network Ltd.	$440M
8	NEXN · Nexxen International Ltd.	$365M
9	IBTA · Ibotta, Inc.	$342M
10	PUBM · PubMatic, Inc.	$283M

TV & radio broadcasting

Local TV stations, and radio broadcasting and audio.

US market · $50.0B total revenue in 2025 · source: S&P Global Market Intelligence. Shares are of the whole market, including companies MoatScope doesn't cover; company revenue is for the fiscal year closest to 2025.

#	Business	Market share	Revenue
1	NXST · NEXSTAR MEDIA GROUP, INC.	9.9%	$4.9B
2	IHRT · iHeartMedia, Inc.	7.7%	$3.9B
3	SBGI · Sinclair, Inc.	6.3%	$3.2B
4	GTN-A · GRAY MEDIA, INC	6.2%	$3.1B
5	SSP · E.W. SCRIPPS Co	4.3%	$2.2B
6	CMLS · CUMULUS MEDIA INC	1.5%	$742M
7	TSQ · Townsquare Media, Inc.	0.9%	$427M
8	GHC · Graham Holdings Co Television Broadcasting · filed under Conglomerates & Holding Companies	0.9%	$425M
9	UONE · URBAN ONE, INC.	0.7%	$374M
10	SST · System1, Inc.	0.5%	$266M
	All other companies	60.0%	$30.0B

Newspapers, books & digital publishing

News, magazine and book publishers and digital publishing brands.

12 businesses MoatScope covers, ranked by revenue. No reliable figure for this market's total yet, so shares aren't shown.

#	Business	Revenue
1	NWSA · NEWS CORP	$6.7B
2	RELX · RELX PLC Scientific, Technical & Medical (Elsevier), Print · filed under Professional & Business Services	$4.0B
3	NYT · NEW YORK TIMES CO	$2.8B
4	PPLI · People Inc	$2.4B
5	TDAY · USA TODAY Co., Inc.	$2.3B
6	WLYB · JOHN WILEY & SONS, INC.	$1.7B
7	SCHL · SCHOLASTIC CORP	$1.6B
8	ZD · ZIFF DAVIS, INC.	$1.5B
9	WBTN · WEBTOON Entertainment Inc.	$1.4B
10	LEE · LEE ENTERPRISES, Inc	$562M

Local marketing & directories

Online reviews, home-services marketplaces, directories and small-business marketing.

US market · $171.0B total revenue in 2025 · source: BIA Advisory Services 2025 US local… · rough estimate. Shares are of the whole market, including companies MoatScope doesn't cover; company revenue is for the fiscal year closest to 2025. All US local advertising across media (BIA), broader than local listings and leads.

#	Business	Market share	Revenue
1	YELP · YELP INC US revenue	0.9%	$1.5B
2	ANGI · Angi Inc. US revenue	0.5%	$904M
3	THRY · Thryv Holdings, Inc. US revenue	0.4%	$659M
	All other companies	98.2%	$168.0B

Companies

Company	Moat	Quality	Market
APP AppLovin Corp	Narrow	76	Ad-tech platforms	—	$90.1B
FOX Fox Corp	Narrow	54	TV & radio broadcasting + 1 other market	—	$27.4B
OMC OMNICOM GROUP INC.	None	29	Advertising & marketing services	10.9%	$24.9B
NWSA NEWS CORP	Narrow	41	Newspapers, books & digital publishing + 1 other market	—	$16.3B
NYT NEW YORK TIMES CO	Wide	71	Newspapers, books & digital publishing	—	$11.0B
TTD Trade Desk, Inc.	Narrow	64	Ad-tech platforms	—	$5.8B
WPP WPP plc	Narrow	36	Advertising & marketing services	10.8%	$5.8B
NXST NEXSTAR MEDIA GROUP, INC.	Narrow	51	TV & radio broadcasting	9.9%	$5.1B
MGNI MAGNITE, INC.	Narrow	52	Ad-tech platforms	—	$3.4B
PPLI People Inc	None	36	Newspapers, books & digital publishing	—	$2.9B
WLYB JOHN WILEY & SONS, INC.	Narrow	53	Newspapers, books & digital publishing	—	$2.6B
STGW Stagwell Inc	None	30	Advertising & marketing services	1.8%	$2.2B
DV DoubleVerify Holdings, Inc.	Narrow	66	Ad-tech platforms	—	$2.1B
IMAX IMAX CORP	Narrow	57	Advertising & marketing services	0.3%	$2.1B
ZD ZIFF DAVIS, INC.	Narrow	50	Newspapers, books & digital publishing	—	$1.9B
QMMM QMMM Holdings Ltd	None	21	Advertising & marketing services	<0.1%	$1.8B
WBTN WEBTOON Entertainment Inc.	None	25	Newspapers, books & digital publishing	—	$1.3B
CCO Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc.	None	25	Advertising & marketing services	1.0%	$1.2B
IBTA Ibotta, Inc.	None	39	Ad-tech platforms	—	$1.1B
NMAX Newsmax Inc.	None	14	Advertising & marketing services	0.1%	$1.1B
YELP YELP INC	Narrow	70	Local marketing & directories	0.9%	$1.1B
TDAY USA TODAY Co., Inc.	None	27	Newspapers, books & digital publishing	—	$1.0B
SBGI Sinclair, Inc.	None	23	TV & radio broadcasting	6.3%	$926M
CRTO Criteo S.A.	Narrow	55	Ad-tech platforms	—	$881M
PUBM PubMatic, Inc.	Narrow	51	Ad-tech platforms	—	$775M
MNTN MNTN, Inc.	None	36	Advertising & marketing services	0.2%	$743M
SCHL SCHOLASTIC CORP	None	31	Newspapers, books & digital publishing	—	$727M
GTN-A GRAY MEDIA, INC	None	28	TV & radio broadcasting	6.2%	$608M
NEXN Nexxen International Ltd.	None	43	Ad-tech platforms	—	$605M
EVC ENTRAVISION COMMUNICATIONS CORP	None	25	TV & radio broadcasting	0.5%	$582M
PERI Perion Network Ltd.	None	38	Ad-tech platforms	—	$383M
BOC BOSTON OMAHA Corp	None	29	Advertising & marketing services	<0.1%	$374M
ADV Advantage Solutions Inc.	None	17	Advertising & marketing services	2.2%	$355M
ZH Zhihu Inc.	None	30	Advertising & marketing services	0.2%	$309M
TTGT TechTarget, Inc.	Narrow	32	Newspapers, books & digital publishing	—	$266M
ANGI Angi Inc.	Narrow	44	Local marketing & directories	0.5%	$254M
SSP E.W. SCRIPPS Co	None	21	TV & radio broadcasting	4.3%	$248M
IHRT iHeartMedia, Inc.	None	12	TV & radio broadcasting	7.7%	$234M
NCMI National CineMedia, Inc.	None	25	Advertising & marketing services	0.2%	$196M
LEE LEE ENTERPRISES, Inc	None	11	Newspapers, books & digital publishing	—	$141M
TEAD Teads Holding Co.	None	16	Ad-tech platforms	—	$110M
STFS Star Fashion Culture Holdings Ltd	None	17	Advertising & marketing services	<0.1%	$100M
MDIA Mediaco Holding Inc.	None	14	TV & radio broadcasting	0.3%	$91M
FLNT Fluent, Inc.	None	12	Advertising & marketing services	0.1%	$86M
BZFD BuzzFeed, Inc.	None	13	Newspapers, books & digital publishing	—	$85M
TSQ Townsquare Media, Inc.	None	26	TV & radio broadcasting	0.9%	$68M
ELRE Yinfu Gold Corp.	None	8	Advertising & marketing services	—	$62M
WSHP WeShop Holdings Ltd	None	10	Advertising & marketing services	<0.1%	$60M
IH iHuman Inc.	None	46	Advertising & marketing services	<0.1%	$59M
GOAI Eva Live Inc	None	45	Advertising & marketing services	<0.1%	$59M
SGA SAGA COMMUNICATIONS INC	None	23	TV & radio broadcasting	0.2%	$53M
TZOO TRAVELZOO	None	38	Advertising & marketing services	<0.1%	$51M
THRY Thryv Holdings, Inc.	None	29	Local marketing & directories	0.4%	$51M
ABLV Able View Global Inc.	None	26	Advertising & marketing services	<0.1%	$50M
AEHL Antelope Enterprise Holdings Ltd	None	12	Advertising & marketing services	<0.1%	$46M
HAO Haoxi Health Technology Ltd	None	12	Advertising & marketing services	<0.1%	$43M
SFHG SAMFINE CREATION HOLDINGS GROUP Ltd	None	13	Advertising & marketing services	—	$42M
IZEA IZEA Worldwide, Inc.	None	33	Advertising & marketing services	<0.1%	$41M
HHS HARTE HANKS INC	None	16	Advertising & marketing services	0.1%	$33M
HAFG Holistic Asset Finance Group Co., Ltd.	None	4	Advertising & marketing services	<0.1%	$30M
OCG Oriental Culture Holding LTD	None	33	Advertising & marketing services	<0.1%	$30M
TJGC TJGC GROUP Ltd	None	3	Advertising & marketing services	<0.1%	$30M
SWAG Stran & Company, Inc.	None	21	Advertising & marketing services	<0.1%	$24M
GIFT GIFTIFY, INC.	None	20	Advertising & marketing services	<0.1%	$22M
SST System1, Inc.	None	8	TV & radio broadcasting	0.5%	$21M
EDHL Everbright Digital Holding Ltd.	None	36	Advertising & marketing services	<0.1%	$20M
KDOZF KIDOZ INC.	None	37	Advertising & marketing services	<0.1%	$20M
UONE URBAN ONE, INC.	None	20	TV & radio broadcasting	0.7%	$20M
AAQL Antiaging Quantum Living Inc.	None	20	Advertising & marketing services	<0.1%	$18M
FENG Phoenix New Media Ltd	None	24	Advertising & marketing services	<0.1%	$17M
BBGI BEASLEY BROADCAST GROUP INC	None	6	Advertising & marketing services	0.1%	$15M
DLPN Dolphin Entertainment, Inc.	None	16	Advertising & marketing services	<0.1%	$13M
CAHO Caro Holdings Inc.	None	11	Advertising & marketing services	<0.1%	$12M
TULP BLOOMIA HOLDINGS, INC.	None	16	Advertising & marketing services	<0.1%	$11M
MOBQ Mobiquity Technologies, Inc.	None	11	Advertising & marketing services	<0.1%	$11M
CDLX Cardlytics, Inc.	Narrow	23	Ad-tech platforms	—	$11M
PSQH PSQ Holdings, Inc.	None	18	Advertising & marketing services	<0.1%	$11M
ADMQ ADM ENDEAVORS, INC.	None	26	Advertising & marketing services	<0.1%	$6M
VS Versus Systems Inc.	None	24	Advertising & marketing services	<0.1%	$6M
TMGI Transglobal Management Group, Inc.	None	16	Advertising & marketing services	<0.1%	$6M
SPTY SPECIFICITY, INC.	None	14	Advertising & marketing services	<0.1%	$5M
GDC GD Culture Group Ltd	None	15	Advertising & marketing services	—	$5M
NAPD NAPC Defense, Inc.	None	7	Advertising & marketing services	<0.1%	$5M
YDKG Yueda Digital Holding	None	22	Advertising & marketing services	<0.1%	$5M
BAOS Baosheng Media Group Holdings Ltd	None	12	Advertising & marketing services	<0.1%	$5M
TGNT Totaligent, Inc.	None	13	Advertising & marketing services	<0.1%	$4M
CHR Cheer Holding, Inc.	None	47	Advertising & marketing services	<0.1%	$3M
VSME VS MEDIA Holdings Ltd	None	9	Advertising & marketing services	<0.1%	$3M
YHC LQR House Inc.	None	18	Advertising & marketing services	<0.1%	$3M
BMTM Bright Mountain Media, Inc.	None	18	Advertising & marketing services	<0.1%	$2M
TRUG TruGolf Holdings, Inc.	None	17	Advertising & marketing services	<0.1%	$2M
TDIC Dreamland Ltd	None	31	Advertising & marketing services	<0.1%	$1M
DDDX 3DX Industries, Inc.	None	25	Advertising & marketing services	—	$1M
AERA AI Era Corp.	None	40	Advertising & marketing services	<0.1%	$1M
CMLS CUMULUS MEDIA INC	None	18	TV & radio broadcasting	1.5%	$1M
DRCT Direct Digital Holdings, Inc.	None	4	Advertising & marketing services	<0.1%	$1M
DUO Fangdd Network Group Ltd.	None	13	Advertising & marketing services	<0.1%	—
INTJ Intelligent Group Ltd	None	24	Advertising & marketing services	<0.1%	—
TNMG TNL Mediagene	None	11	Advertising & marketing services	<0.1%	—

99 companies.

Market share is a company's revenue in its main market (Market column) as a share of that market's total: every company in it, including private companies and companies listed outside the US (sources under each market above). Revenue is for the fiscal year closest to 2025, and a market that is national (such as US banking) counts only US revenue. Companies that run several businesses are split by the segments they report, and each segment counts in its own market. A dash means the market has no reliable total yet, or no revenue was reported for that year.

Price versus fair value for every company is in the screener.

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