[PART 1] The global programmatic digital out-of-home (pDOOH) market reached $1.339 billion in advertising spend during 2025, according to the inaugural World Out of Home Organization (WOO) Global pDOOH Expenditure Study 2026.
The report, independently aggregated by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC), is based on confidential revenue submissions from 12 supply-side platforms (SSPs) across more than 40 markets, making it the first supply-side measurement of global pDOOH revenue at scale.
The findings show that programmatic accounted for 7% of global DOOH advertising spend in 2025, while highlighting significant regional differences in adoption, with EMEA leading the world on programmatic penetration despite the Americas remaining the largest market by spend.
“This study marks a genuine first for our industry – a credible, independently aggregated baseline for programmatic DOOH at global scale. The headline figure of $1.339 billion matters, but the structural insights are equally compelling: the stark divergence between volume and penetration, the scale of the untapped opportunity in Eastern Asia, and the dominance of PMP as the transaction model of choice.
“For the first time, the global pDOOH market has a benchmark it can build from,” said Charles Parry-Okeden, VP & global lead, audience measurement & data, World Out of Home Organization.
EMEA leads on programmatic adoption
EMEA generated $521 million in pDOOH revenue during 2025, representing a regional penetration rate of 9.4% of total DOOH spend.
Western Europe accounted for the bulk of the region’s activity, contributing $346.7 million and achieving 21.3% penetration.
Germany emerged as the global leader in programmatic adoption, with 31.8% of its DOOH spend transacted programmatically — almost double the United States’ penetration rate. Belgium (25.5%) and France (16.7%) also ranked among the world’s leading markets by programmatic penetration.
The report suggests this demonstrates that mature programmatic adoption is not necessarily linked to the size of a country’s overall DOOH market.
South Africa drives Africa’s pDOOH market
While African markets remain relatively small in global terms, the study identifies South Africa as the continent’s dominant pDOOH market.
According to WOO, programmatic DOOH revenue in Africa is heavily concentrated in South Africa, reflecting the country’s more developed digital outdoor infrastructure and programmatic trading ecosystem.
The report positions South Africa as the continent’s benchmark market as pDOOH adoption expands across Africa.
Americas lead in scale, not penetration
The Americas remained the world’s largest pDOOH region by value, generating $667 million in 2025.
The United States accounted for $545.5 million of global spend, making it the largest single pDOOH market worldwide. However, its 15.9% penetration rate lagged several European markets.
Canada ranked fifth globally, contributing $73.1 million with 15% penetration.
Asia-Pacific presents the largest growth opportunity
Asia-Pacific generated $151 million in pDOOH spend, with overall penetration sitting at just 1.7%. Australia and New Zealand contributed $92.3 million, accounting for 61% of the region’s total spend.
The report identifies Eastern Asia — including Japan, South Korea and mainland China — as the industry’s largest untapped opportunity. Despite representing a $7.3 billion DOOH advertising market, programmatic penetration across the region is only 0.6%.
Private marketplaces dominate global trading
One of the study’s strongest findings is the dominance of Private Marketplace (PMP) transactions in pDOOH trading.
PMP deals accounted for 75.7% of global pDOOH spend, equivalent to $1.014 billion, indicating that advertisers and media owners continue to favour curated programmatic transactions over open exchanges.
OOH-specialist demand-side platforms were responsible for 65.5% of global spend, with platforms including Broadsign, DAX, Vistar Media, VIOOH and Hivestack by Perion among the leading players.
Industry gains its first global benchmark
Charles Parry-Okeden, WOO vice-president and global lead for audience measurement and data, said the study provides the industry with its first independently verified global baseline for programmatic DOOH.
He said the research highlighted important structural insights beyond the headline spend figure, including the divergence between market volume and programmatic penetration, the scale of the opportunity in Eastern Asia, and the dominance of private marketplaces as the preferred transaction model.
WOO president Tom Goddard said the participation of 12 SSPs and PwC’s role as independent aggregator marked a significant step towards greater transparency and consistent measurement across the global out-of-home industry.
The report is expected to serve as an annual benchmark for tracking the growth of programmatic DOOH across global markets, including EMEA and Africa.
