The ad slowdown has spread beyond the tech giants to hit TV networks, publishers.

“We’re seeing softer demand in a fragmented market as we look at a less favorable macro environment,” said Gunner Wiedenfels, chief financial officer of Warner Bros. Discovery, referring to when TV ads sell closer to air date.

The ad outlook has dimmed in recent weeks amid signs that rising inflation has weighed on consumer spending. Walmart Inc.,

The country’s biggest retailer recently warned that rising food and fuel prices are causing people to hold back on spending.

Irwin Gottlieb, the former CEO of GroupM, the ad-buying company owned by WPP PLC, said he expects more marketers to cut ad spending because of Walmart.S

advertisement. “When you hear about the decline across the board at Walmart, it confirms their fears,” he said.

Despite the slowdown, some still expect overall ad spending to be strong this year. Group M said in June that global ad spending, excluding U.S. political spending, is expected to grow 8.4% to $837.5 billion. In December, he predicted a growth of 9.7% for the year.

“It’s a relatively healthy advertising market considering the very weak sentiment,” Brian Wieser, Group M’s president of global data, said in an interview. Digital advertising grew by double-digit percentages, while TV was flat, he added.

Advertisement Advertising activity in the U.S. will generate $7.1 trillion in 2020, according to a 2021 study by IHS Markit, a group of advertising alliances, media companies and national trade associations. The study, which considered the direct and indirect effects of advertising, found that by 2020, every dollar spent on advertising in the US will generate nearly $21 in sales activity.

Industry observers say advertising is often one of the first expenses cut by companies looking to cut costs during times of economic uncertainty. When this happens, digital companies are often the first to hit, as marketers can spend in real time.

At the end of last month, big players in digital advertising such as Facebook META -2.03%

Parent meta forums Inc.,

META -2.03%

Snap Inc.

And Twitter Inc.

-Most experienced excessive growth last year—partly blaming a slowdown in advertising for their recent weak quarterly results. Google Parent Alphabet Inc.,

The digital advertising juggernaut reported its slowest quarterly sales growth in two years as a pushback by some advertisers hurt its YouTube video business.

“It looks like we’ve entered a recession that will have a broad impact on the digital advertising business,” CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on a recent call with analysts.

Gannett last week Inc.,

USA Today, the publisher of several local newspapers, said revenue from advertising and marketing services fell 8.7% and cut its profit outlook for the year in part due to an industry-wide digital advertising windfall as well as rising spending.

New York Times Co.

In the year It posted the first decline in digital ad revenue since 2020 on Wednesday, due in part to the macroeconomic environment.

“Advertising winds are playing out broadly as we expected,” the company’s CEO Meredith Kopit Levine said during an earnings call with analysts.

Paramount Global said on Thursday that its largest business in its TV operations — which includes units such as CBS, MTV, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central — was flat in the latest quarter, in part because advertising fell 6 percent.

“We see both headwinds and tailwinds in advertising,” Paramount CEO Bob Bakish said on a call with analysts after the results. He said the digital advertising market and the distribution market are facing challenges due to supply chain constraints that primarily affect advertisers, including car makers. “But these are not long-term issues,” he said.

Mr. Bakish said he saw some areas of strength in ad spending, including technology and travel. They said they expect ad spending to grow in certain categories during the year, including from drug companies and political ads ahead of the midterm elections.

Warner Bros. Discovery warned investors on Thursday that the company is adjusting its financial outlook for both 2022 and 2023 in part because of the macroeconomic environment that is impacting advertising. The company now expects third-quarter global ad sales to decline by high-single to low-double-digit percentages.

Advertising slowdown comes from the streaming industry’s two biggest players – Netflix Inc.

and Walt Disney Co.

‘s Disney+ – are working to launch ad-supported platforms. Disney expects to introduce a new level in America at the end of this year, while NetflixS

It won’t start until next year.

year Inc.,

The transmission equipment and software maker, which derives most of its revenue from digital advertising, has benefited in part from a recent shift in ad spending, executives said late last month. In the second quarter, advertisers such as automakers and consumer goods companies cut their spending on traditional TV but increased their spending on Roku by double-digit percentages, executives said.

Roku said it expects its advertising business to come under further pressure in the second half of the year.

“We’re in an economic cycle where advertising is declining,” Roku CEO Anthony Wood said on a call with analysts last month. “It turns around.”

Write to Suzanne Vranica at Suzanne.Vranica@wsj.com and Alexandra Bruell at alexandra.bruell@wsj.com