TV, CTV or social video in Portugal: which deserves the next euro?

Do not confuse table-price share with real spend

Portugal’s television market looks dominant in monitored rate-card data, but those figures do not reveal negotiated net allocation.

MediaMonitor data reported by Marketeer put television at 89.3% of Portugal’s monitored advertising investment in 2025, with internet at 4.9%. The article explicitly says these are table prices before negotiated discounts. They are useful as share-of-voice evidence within that monitoring system, not as a statement that 89.3% of actual advertiser money went to television.^[1]

Ask every supplier or agency for net media, fees, production, technology, data and measurement in the same cost view. Record which inventory and formats the source measures. A large gross discount does not make a channel efficient, and a digital dashboard does not make its price complete.

Choose linear TV for reach that needs to arrive together

Linear television remains relevant when the commercial job requires broad exposure within a defined period.

ANACOM reported subscription television in 89.4% of Portuguese households in 2025. Access is not the same as viewing or advertising reach, but it confirms that television distribution remains deeply established. The Reuters Institute also describes TV as an important news source in Portugal despite a long decline.^[2][3]

Linear TV can fit a national launch, retail period or category where broad reach and legitimacy matter. It is less suitable when the available budget cannot achieve useful frequency, the audience is narrow, the creative cannot carry the proposition quickly or the organisation expects person-level attribution.

• Request projected reach and frequency for the actual target.
• Check dayparts, channels, programme environment and seasonality.
• Model more than one weight and duration.
• Agree how brand and sales evidence will be interpreted.

Use CTV when the television screen and selective delivery both matter

CTV can combine a high-attention screen with buying controls, but availability and measurement require careful definitions.

IAB Europe’s 2026 CTV guide describes connected television as an increasingly important part of Europe’s digital advertising ecosystem while emphasising the need for shared definitions, privacy and standards. It is European guidance, not evidence that a particular level of CTV inventory is available in Portugal.^[4]

Before buying, define CTV, broadcaster video-on-demand, addressable linear inventory and other online video separately. Ask where ads run, whether the screen is known, how households and devices are counted, how frequency works across suppliers and what independent verification is available. A “TV screen” claim should be supported by delivery data.

Choose social video for iteration and response

Social video is useful when the team can learn from multiple creative versions and act on audience response.

IAB Europe reports that Europe’s digital advertising market grew 10.5% to €131 billion in 2025, with social advertising up 19.2% and social video the fastest-growing format. Portugal’s digital market was fully modelled in the report because no national submission was available, so the European growth signal should not be presented as audited Portuguese spend.^[5][6]

Use social video when the audience is reachable, the proposition benefits from several hooks or demonstrations and the landing journey can capture intent. Set quality thresholds beyond cheap views: relevant reach, watch behaviour, qualified sessions, brand search, leads or sales quality.

Run the next-euro test against a written hypothesis

The budget decision should say what the additional investment is expected to change.

Write the hypothesis as an increment: adding this amount to this channel will reach a defined audience not efficiently reached by the current plan and improve a named outcome within a stated period. Choose a comparison before launch—a holdout, region, matched period, brand study or model suited to the spend and decision.

Keep creative quality in the test. A television edit placed vertically in a mobile feed is not a fair test of social video; a low-resolution short-form asset is not a fair test of television-screen attention. Preserve the proposition and proof, then adapt opening, duration, framing, sound, captions and call to action.