Telegram Ads for News & Media — Subscriber-Acquisition at Scale (2026)
TL;DR
News and media are platform-native for Telegram Ads:
- No news-media CPM published (the base is too thin); the all-niche Euro average is €2.97 CPM and 0.85% CTR over 257.7M impressions.
- Measured: 25,612 campaigns that name news or media in the title, text or link — 23.1M impressions, 1.01% CTR (about half the 1.88% across all our campaigns) and 0.7% of campaigns declined (5.0% across all campaigns). All account types, 3 October 2026; CTR leaves out campaigns above 25%.
- Telegram’s guidelines prohibit political ads — campaigns, parties, candidates, political or religious movements (§5.5) — and ads tied to ongoing sensitive events can be suspended.
- Promoting a Telegram channel is the platform’s original use: Telegram describes the Ad Platform as a tool for sponsored messages in public channels.
- Media law — election-period rules, defamation, labelling of sponsored or opinion content — differs by country and stays with the publisher.
Three sub-niches:
- Subscriber growth for a Telegram channel (the platform-native flow): “Join {channel}” CTA, direct subscriber acquisition. One tap from ad to subscription.
- Reader acquisition for a website or newsletter (cross-channel flow): CTA links out to your site. More steps between the ad and the sign-up.
- Paid-subscription onboarding (paywalled news, premium newsletter): SaaS-style funnel, longer conversion cycle.
What runs: mainstream news, niche industry media, premium newsletters, investigative journalism, sports media, business / finance media (with disclosure on opinion pieces), tech / science / culture media, podcasts (audio media). Crypto / forex / gambling media follow the parent-niche rules of those verticals.
What we measured for news and media
We count campaigns by the words in them — a title, text or link that names news or media — across all account types, as of 3 October 2026. Two things stand out:
- Declines are rare. 172 of 25,612 campaigns are declined: 0.7%, against 5.0% across all our campaigns.
- Clicks are scarcer. CTR is 1.01% on 23.1M impressions, about half the 1.88% across all our campaigns (both without campaigns above 25% CTR).
What this means for you: a news ad is unlikely to be the one that gets declined, and it has to work harder for the click — so the channel’s value proposition matters more than the headline of the day. These figures are not a CPM; we do not publish one for the niche.
Country prices — what we have measured
We do not publish a news-media CPM: the base is too thin. Below is the measured all-niche price per country. Euro accounts are billed in euros, TON accounts in TON; the two are never converted into each other.
| Geo | Euro accounts, CPM (all niches) | TON accounts, CPM in TON (all niches) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| US / UK | not measured | USA 0.39 · UK 0.27 | English creative |
| EU (NL / FR / IT / ES) | not measured | France 0.24 · Netherlands 0.27 · Spain 0.41 · Italy 0.43 | Local-language creative |
| BR / MX | Brazil €2.22 | Brazil 0.61 · Mexico 1.30 | PT-BR / Spanish creative |
| TR | Turkey €2.92 | Turkey 0.42 | Turkish-language inventory |
| IN | India €0.25 | India 0.42 | Hindi / English |
| ID | not measured | Indonesia 1.82 | Bahasa Indonesia |
| Russia / CIS | Uzbekistan €0.20 · Russia €2.68 | Uzbekistan 0.26 (TON ads are not served in Russia) | Russian creative |
| SA / UAE | UAE €1.42 · Saudi Arabia €1.69 | Saudi Arabia 1.21 · UAE 3.79 | Bilingual AR + EN |
Euro: single-country campaigns on our Euro accounts, snapshot of 3 October 2026. TON: single-country campaigns on our TON accounts, 22 August – 3 October 2026. Since 22 August 2026 TON accounts have the same country targeting as Euro, so there is no separate “worldwide TON” price. CTR and volume per country are in the CPM by country guide.
Sub-niche 1 — Subscriber growth for a Telegram channel
The most Telegram-native flow. Ad CTA = “Join {channel}” → user clicks → opens Telegram → subscribes.
Setup:
- Adsly Euro World account: every available country in one account, chosen per campaign, for broad or per-country channel growth; a declined ad goes through our direct line to Telegram moderation.
- Channel-allowlist similar topical channels (the audience already reads news on Telegram).
- Creative: lead with the channel’s value-prop, not generic “subscribe to news”. “{Channel name} — {one-sentence value-prop}. {Cadence}. Join {N},000 readers.”
- Views per User: start at 1–2 (the form allows 1 to 4).
- We do not publish a cost per subscriber. What we measure is the click: on Euro accounts a click into a channel cost €0.355 across all niches (September 2026). Your join rate decides the rest.
This is the flow Telegram Ads was built around: the subscribe happens inside the app, with no browser step. We publish no impression-to-subscribe rate.
Sub-niche 2 — Reader acquisition for website / newsletter
Cross-channel flow. CTA → website or newsletter signup.
Higher friction: user clicks ad → opens browser → website → signs up. Every step loses users.
Setup:
- Same cabinet setup.
- The landing page must load fast on mobile: Telegram’s guidelines do not allow destinations that fail to load (§4.2).
- The page the ad opens must be readable — the guidelines do not allow destinations “preventing access by a paywall or login form” (§4.2). Put the newsletter signup form on an open page.
- Creative: lead with article hook + benefit (“How {topic} actually works. {Newsletter} — weekly, free.”).
- We do not publish a cost per email signup. A click to a website cost €0.266 on Euro accounts across all niches (September 2026); website destinations run on Euro accounts, not TON.
Our working advice for most publishers: build the Telegram-channel audience first (sub-niche 1) and convert it to email over time. We have not measured one flow against the other.
Sub-niche 3 — Paid-subscription onboarding
Premium newsletter, paywalled news, B2B intel platforms.
Setup:
- Adsly Euro cabinet.
- Channel allow-list: high-fit industry channels.
- Funnel: ad → free-content piece → paywall → trial → conversion. The page the ad links to stays open (§4.2).
- Creative: lead with a specific factual hook from your reporting, not generic “subscribe”.
- We do not publish a cost per paid subscriber — it depends on your paywall and price far more than on the ad.
What the guidelines allow and rule out
Ads that name news or media are declined in 0.7% of campaigns on our accounts — but every ad is still reviewed, and §5.5 is strict about politics.
Examples of copy that promotes the publication rather than a position:
News channel subscriber acquisition:
{Channel}: {single-sentence beat description}. {Cadence}. Join {N},000 readers tracking {topic}.
Newsletter signup:
A weekly look at {topic}. Independent. Free. Sent every {day}. Read by {N},000 in {industry}.
Premium subscription:
{Publication}. {N} years of independent reporting. Members get {what}. From {price}/month.
What the guidelines rule out:
- Advocating for or against a politician, party or political movement, or exploiting political controversy (§5.5).
- Clickbait, shock or scare tactics, and capitalising on tragedies or health crises (§5.4).
- “Real news the mainstream won’t tell you”: a comparison with other outlets that you cannot support (§5.4).
- Health or supplement offers behind a newsletter framing: the destination must match the ad (§4.3), and supplements fall under §5.8.
Adsly setup for news-media campaigns
- For Telegram-channel subscriber growth: a Euro World account — the platform-native flow, every available country in one account, chosen per campaign, and a direct line to Telegram moderation when an ad is declined.
- For cross-channel reader / paid-subscription: Euro cabinet, geo = target source markets (external website destinations run on Euro, not TON).
- Channel allow-list: similar-topic Telegram channels. After the account is open, our team agrees the launch plan with you.
- Views per User: start at 1–2 (the form allows 1 to 4).
- Timing: we have no hour-of-day data for news audiences. Use the hourly analytics in the Pro Panel on your own campaigns to find your hours.
- A/B test 3 angles in parallel: subject-line / beat-description / social-proof.
Where the legal line runs
Adsly opens the account and gives you the tools; opening an account does not approve any ad. What may be advertised is decided by Telegram’s moderation and by the law of the country you target, and that responsibility stays with the advertiser:
- Political advertising. Telegram’s guidelines say ads “must not promote political campaigns, elections, political parties, candidates, political or religious movements”, and that ads related to ongoing sensitive events “can be suspended for the meantime” (§5.5, Ad Policies and Guidelines).
- Election periods and media law. Rules on election coverage, defamation and the labelling of sponsored or opinion content are national law — check with local counsel in each market you target.
- Conspiracy and pseudoscience. §5.4 prohibits false or misleading information, clickbait and scare tactics.
- Supplement funnels behind a “news” front. The destination must match the ad (§4.3); supplements are judged under §5.8 and are a separate niche with us (nutra).
- Pharma and CBD. We do not take them, in any country.
FAQ
Is news allowed on Telegram Ads?
Yes. On our accounts, campaigns that name news or media are declined in 0.7% of cases, against 5.0% across all campaigns (3 October 2026). The boundary is politics: §5.5 prohibits ads that promote political campaigns, parties, candidates or movements.
What’s the cheapest way to grow a Telegram news channel?
A Euro World account, broad or per-country delivery, channel-target similar-topic channels, Views per User at 1–2. We do not publish a cost per subscriber: compare markets by the measured country CPM in the CPM by country guide and judge the campaign by its join rate.
Should I use Euro or TON cabinet?
Euro, for both goals: Telegram-channel subscriber growth and cross-channel readers — a website or newsletter destination runs on Euro, not TON. Every new Euro account is a World account with every available country, and a declined ad can be escalated through our direct line to Telegram moderation. Since 22 August 2026 both types have the same country targeting; TON ads are not served in Russia, Ukraine, Israel or Palestine.
Can I run partisan political ads?
No. Telegram’s guidelines prohibit ads that promote political campaigns, elections, parties, candidates or political movements, and advocating for or against a politician is listed as an example (§5.5). A news outlet can advertise itself; it cannot advertise a side. We publish no rejection rate for political copy.
What about election-period ads?
The guidelines have no election-window rule: political campaign ads are prohibited at all times (§5.5), and ads related to ongoing sensitive events can be suspended while the event lasts. National election law is a separate matter — check it with local counsel.
How does Telegram compare to Meta / X for news subscriber acquisition?
We do not publish a cost per subscriber, so we will not set a number against Meta’s. What we can say: on Telegram the subscribe happens inside the app in one tap, with no browser step, and a click into a channel cost €0.355 on our Euro accounts (all niches, September 2026). Compare that with your own Meta cost per click in the same market.
Are podcast ads supported?
Audio-only ads aren’t a Telegram-Ads format. But podcasts can be promoted with standard image+text creative that links to the podcast Telegram channel or to a hosting platform.
Does Adsly help if a news creative is declined?
On Euro accounts, yes: a declined ad can be escalated to a human reviewer through Adsly. TON accounts run on Telegram’s automated moderation, with no escalation. In the Pro Panel, AI Recreate re-submits a declined ad with a new text; we publish no recovery rate for it.
News and media are a sensible niche to learn Telegram Ads in: ads that name news or media are rarely declined (0.7% of campaigns), and subscribing to a channel is the flow the platform was built around. Run both objectives (Telegram-channel subscribers and cross-channel readers / paid subs) from one Euro World account, get the channel allow-list right, and keep politics out of the ad — §5.5 leaves no room for it.
