Belgium’s major players in the media industry have witnessed palpable growth in recent years, though 2020—the chaotic year dominated by the Covid-19 pandemic—served as an exception when revenues experienced a temporary downturn, according to fresh findings released today by the Media and Journalism Research Center (MJRC).
The recovery tide began turning from 2021 onward, paving the way for consistent annual growth that culminated in a combined revenue haul of €3.07 billion for Belgium’s seven largest media firms in 2023. Although this represents a modest 1% climb from last year, it showcases an impressive 8% jump compared to the pre-pandemic benchmarks of 2019.
A lion’s share of these earnings rests firmly in the hands of the five leading private media juggernauts, whose combined revenue rose steadily from €1.98 billion in 2019 to approximately €2.1 billion by 2023—a tidy 6% increase. In parallel, public broadcasters RTBF and VRT also saw their revenues surge from €854 million in 2019 to over €969 million combined in 2023—recording a growth milestone of over 13%.
The profit picture is equally robust across Belgium’s media sphere. Net profits for the top five private corporations soared by over 31%, shooting upwards from €138 million in 2020 to a little over €181 million by 2022, according to the latest available data. Taken together, the sector’s financial resilience underlines its ability to bounce back and showcases strong promise for continued expansion down the line.
This analysis forms part of the Global Media Finances Map, an MJRC initiative aimed at analyzing the financial trajectories of media and technology companies across the globe.
Read the analysis here.
More analysis on the Global Media Finances Map project website