The transformation of the media sphere in Georgia: transit from traditional media to digital platforms

This article examines the transformation of the media sphere in Georgia as a transit from traditional media to digital platforms, with a primary focus on economic and structural dimensions rather than political alignments. The study considers how television, print, online outlets and global platforms have become interdependent within a small, resource-constrained market, and how this hybrid configuration affects access to information and the sustainability of media actors. The analysis shows that television remains an important source of news and a major advertising channel, while online media and social networks have gained prominence, especially among younger and urban audiences. At the same time, global platforms have become key intermediaries for distribution and digital advertising, shaping opportunities and constraints for domestic media organisations. In this context, the research objectives are: (1) to reconstruct the main stages of the Georgian media system’s evolution from a broadcast-centred to a platform-influenced environment; (2) to analyse how changes in technology, regulation and the advertising market affect the roles and revenue models of traditional and digital media; and (3) to assess how platformisation influences the sustainability and diversity of the media sphere in a small market. The study is based on a desk-based mixed-methods approach, combining qualitative analysis of media landscape and information ecosystem reports, advertising market studies and regulatory documents with secondary quantitative data from longitudinal media consumption surveys. The results identify three stages of transformation (broadcast dominance, early digital convergence and platformisation), document the emergence of a hybrid media system, and highlight persistent economic vulnerability and growing dependence on global platforms. The main conclusions are that: (1) the Georgian media sphere should be understood as a single hybrid ecosystem rather than separate “traditional†and “digital†sectors; (2) small-market conditions and platform intermediation critically shape the outcomes of digital transition; and (3) improving data on digital advertising and developing integrated policy approaches are essential for supporting a sustainable and diverse media environment.