Ukraine’s TV advertising market is undergoing a major transformation. From the sharp decline in ad spending caused by the war to the growing influence of streaming platforms and personalised OTT services, Ukraine’s television advertising landscape is facing profound changes. Yuriy Gorokhov, co-founder of the innovative platforms myGaru and Vidzone, spoke with Forbes BrandVoice about how broadcasters and search platforms adapt, how user privacy is protected, and what innovations shape the industryʼs future.
How is the TV advertising market in Ukraine evolving today?
Ukraine’s TV advertising market is going through one of its most difficult periods. Before 2022, annual ad spending exceeded $300 million. Today, itʼs down to around $100 million. The war is a significant factor, but the shift in audience behaviour also plays a critical role. Younger viewers are turning to streaming platforms and social media, where they have greater control over their content. The influence of content creators and digital production is skyrocketing—Ukrainian YouTube, for example, is booming. Traditional broadcasters are now adapting to new technologies like Addressable TV and OTT platforms. These innovations hold potential for recovery, but the road to stability remains long.
What trends do you foresee in the next 2–5 years?
Globally, the TV advertising market, especially in the Addressable TV segment, is moving toward greater personalisation and tighter integration with digital channels. Major players like Samsung and LG are becoming key players in advertising. Their proprietary platforms, such as Samsung TV Plus and other FAST services, are now attracting substantial advertising budgets.
In the coming years, traditional linear TV will continue to lose its audience share to interactive platforms. This shift may be slower in Ukraine due to the ongoing full-scale war and economic challenges, but the trend is already evident.
For example, in Kazakhstan, which has a TV market of comparable size, such a platform has already launched. We may also soon see local versions of global FAST platforms, adapted to Ukrainian content and realities.
What challenges is the market facing due to the full-scale war in Ukraine?
The key issues are economic instability and reduced consumer spending power. Advertisers are cutting budgets or shifting to more measurable channels to maximise ROI. Local content production has declined due to resource shortages, security risks, and infrastructure issues. Power outages sometimes made it difficult to reliably deliver content to viewers, particularly during primetime, when ads ran but people had no electricity or internet. This significantly impacted campaign effectiveness. The situation has improved considerably, and we hope this positive trend continues.
How is the Paid search industry developing, both globally and in Ukraine?
Paid search is a massive global market dominated by platforms like Google, Bing, and Yahoo. Worldwide spending on this channel continues to rise, as brands are willing to invest billions to appear on the first page of search results due to high conversion rates. In Ukraine, the market is stable, though considerably smaller. While advertising budgets decreased during the war, demand for paid search remains, and the sector still has growth potential. What’s particularly interesting is how traditional search engines will evolve, as AI platforms like ChatGPT are beginning to compete with them. In 2024, ChatGPT was processing over 37.5 million daily searches, with steady monthly growth.
How does Addressable TV advertising work in Ukraine?
Addressable TV allows different households to see different ads during the same commercial break, tailored to advertiser-defined preferences. In Ukraine, targeting is currently possible by region, device operating system, and viewing behaviour (e.g., favourite shows and viewing times, which help form behavioural segments). The technology also enables frequency capping (limiting how often an ad is shown) and sequential targeting (serving a new ad only to viewers who saw the previous one). This approach continues to evolve in Ukraine, as we build complex technical integrations among content owners, OTT platforms, internet providers, and advertisers.
Yurii Horokhov, adtech entrepreneur
How is user privacy protected today?
User security is a core focus of the global advertising industry, especially in the era of privacy regulations like the GDPR. While such restrictions are not formally enforced in Ukraine, we aim to follow international best practices. For example, at Vidzone, every ad is reviewed by legal experts and moderators before it appears on screen. They ensure compliance with legal requirements, ethical standards, and brand guidelines. Advertisers never receive personal data—only aggregated statistics such as how many people watched the ad, when, and on which channels. Tech solutions developed by Adtelligent undergo regular cybersecurity audits, stress testing, and anti-hacking checks. This ensures user data is protected and ad delivery signals cannot be hijacked or manipulated.
As for myGaru, it was built from day one as a privacy-centric platform, promoting a digital advertising and behavioural data ecosystem that aligns strictly with GDPR standards. A key component of its security model is deep integration with telecom operators, which eliminates the need for static identifiers like emails, device IDs, or third-party cookies — all of which are typically privacy weak points.
Tell us more about the myGaru and Vidzone platforms. What makes them unique?
Vidzone is an all-in-one Addressable TV-enabled video monetization platform. It consolidates 4–5 different technologies into a single solution, helping partners reduce transaction costs while improving quality and reliability. It offers advertisers a seamless way to run large-scale, impactful campaigns. Vidzone collaborates with over 10 OTT platforms, including Ukraine’s largest local players, and operates via a single online campaign management interface. Recently, we’ve expanded beyond video by launching automated audio ad insertion in partnership with major radio networks.
myGaru is a breakthrough in privacy-respecting user identification. It introduces a new approach to ad targeting that doesn’t rely on personal data or static identifiers, which are both privacy-sensitive and increasingly ineffective. A central feature of myGaru is its data clean room technology, which enables businesses to collaborate using anonymised datasets. It’s a powerful way for advertisers to unify digital channels (OTT, in-app, web) and personalise outreach. Users, in turn, receive more relevant and less intrusive ads while remaining fully anonymous online.
Who are the clients of your companies?
In Ukraine, Vidzone operates across three main areas: as a monetisation platform, we work with OTT providers and TV broadcasters, and as a technology provider, we help content owners (TV groups and production studios) launch their FAST channels. As a sales house, we offer ad inventory directly to major ad agencies and brands.
It’s a complex position—we manage both technical operations and commercial sales—but this multifunctional approach allows us to stay efficient and agile. It proved to be the only viable strategy in Ukraine for developing such a game-changing product. Today, the platform is scaling fast—we’re running over 100 ad campaigns simultaneously.
myGaru’s key partners are telecom companies. We unite them on a shared platform to expand advertiser reach. Our first partner was Ukrtelecom, with more joining soon. The service is particularly valuable for e-commerce, thanks to precise retargeting that does not rely on email addresses or cookies.
Who are myGaru and Vidzoneʼs competitors?
myGaru is a unique, patented solution in both Ukraine and globally. It combines telecom-based identification with a behavioural data platform—an approach with no direct equivalents currently on the market. Its potential competitors are traditional analytics providers, but myGaru offers a safer, anonymised alternative, enabling advertisers to act on insights for media placement.
Vidzone’s key advantage is its integrated approach. All data related to content distribution across various partner platforms and ad formats is accessible via a single online dashboard. While other companies offer tools for OTT content distribution, Vidzone has a strong edge in OTT monetisation thanks to its use of Addressable TV and programmatic advertising.
Today, Vidzone can adapt the signals of traditional TV channels even when they rely on outdated playout systems and ensure their proper distribution across all Ukrainian OTT platforms. In addition, we help content owners to launch and monetize FAST channels leveraging their existing IP. So far, the company has launched 46 FAST and linear channels, all distributed through numerous Ukrainian OTT platforms. Each channel is ad-tagged, allowing for addressable ad insertion.
Vidzone supports content owners throughout the entire process, from developing the concept of a FAST channel to its distribution and monetisation. This enables them to grow audiences and turn viewership into revenue.
Tell us about your collaboration with Ukrtelecom.
Ukrtelecom quickly recognised the potential of myGaru’s technology in the context of Addressable TV and targeted advertising. We provide tools that help advertisers access more accurate audience segments without using any personal data. Although the full benefits haven’t yet been realised due to the challenging wartime economy, integration is ongoing. Once the market recovers, we can offer telecom providers a reliable stream of additional revenue and deliver a more relevant advertising experience to their users.
What are the plans for myGaru and Vidzone in Ukraine?
Vidzone is now focused on introducing conversion-based ad formats, enabling advertisers to track user actions after a TV ad has aired. Weʼre also planning deeper integration with IPTV providers and more precise audience segmentation and targeting models.
myGaru is a solution that brings direct value to any business. After launching with Ukrainian telecom operators, we plan to expand our partner network to include major advertising agencies and e-commerce companies. Direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands can use myGaru to build analytics and ad delivery systems for their customers. We’re already moving in this direction and aim to launch partnerships immediately after the rollout with Ukrainian mobile telecom operators.
How do you see the future of digital advertising in Ukraine?
Ukraine’s digital ads industry is backed by a strong IT community known for rapid innovation. Once the war ends, we expect a rebound in advertising budgets, the return of investors, and increased domestic consumption. Growing competition will drive the adoption of advanced technologies like artificial intelligence and the integration of the Internet of Things. Ukrainian companies will also begin to expand globally, enhancing the countryʼs reputation as a hub of innovation.
Tell us about your operations in the United States. Who are your clients there?
In the U.S., we operate through Adtelligent, where I serve as co-founder. The company focuses on Western markets, with more than 80% of our clients based in the United States. To scale our presence, we’ve partnered with local companies to form a joint venture called IndiCue. IndiCue adapts Vidzone innovations for the American market, with a focus not only on CTV but also on DOOH (Digital Out-of-Home) advertising.
Recently, we acquired a stake in Advision, a company that develops platform-agnostic solutions for managing and distributing content across all types of screens. By combining Adtelligent and Advision technologies, we are shaping a unique proposition for the U.S. advertising ecosystem.
What are your plans for the U.S. market?
We aim to strengthen our presence in the DOOH segment and expand our solutions across more platforms. Scaling in the U.S. will allow us to apply our technologies in one of the world’s most competitive markets and bring valuable insights back to Ukraine and Europe, ultimately building a global network powered by Ukrainian innovation on par with world-leading solutions.
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