Published in the Bulletin, no. 3, 1998
European Institute of the Media, Dusseldorf
The large media corporations in the Nordic countries (Sweden,
Finland, Denmark and Norway) are almost exclusively operating within
the region, and in the former East-Block nations in the Baltic area.
The global players in print and television are almost completely
absent from the region.
In July this pattern of intra-nordic concentration was further
increased, as the largest Norwegian based media conglomerate
Schibsted bought the Swedish quality broadsheet Svenska Dagbladet
from the powerful industrial conglomerate the Wallenberg group. The
takeover also indicate new alliances and structures within the Nordic
media corporations.
Svenska Dagbladet is the fifth largest newspaper in Sweden, and have
an annual circulation of approximately 200.000. This is only half the
circulation of the leading broadsheet Dagens Nyheter. Svenska
Dagbladet have suffered from heavy losses and cutbacks in the staff,
and would probably not have survived without heavy governmental
press-subsidies. Thereby the price for Svenska Dagbladet was quite
low, but Schibsted also bought Svenska Dagbladet's press, which have
debts of 500 mill NOK. In this printshop, the largest newspaper in
Sweden the tabloid Aftonbladet also is printed. This newspaper was
bought by Schibsted two years ago, and Schibsted hope to benefit from
a closer coordination of the production of the two newspapers. Also
in Norway Schibsted owns a large national tabloid and a metropolitan
broadsheet. They are ranked as first, second (morning edition) and
fourth (evening edition) among Norwegian newspapers by
circulation.
The takeover further underlines a shift in balance between the
largest corporations in the Nordic region. Schibsted now is by far
the largest newspaper publisher in the region, with a total daily
circulation of approximately 1,5 million in Norway and Sweden. This
is twice the size of Bonnier of Sweden, which three years ago were
about as big as Schibsted when it comes to circulation. Bonniers
total circulation have the last ten years dropped more than 200.000
because of plummeting sales for the former flagship the tabloid
Expressen. Bonnier were also bidding for Svenska Dagbladet, but the
Swedish minister of Culture, Marita Ulvskog was not approving the
idea of Bonnier buying another large Swedish newspaper, thereby
clearing the path for Schibsted. Bonnier still is the largest media
company in the Nordic region, and have in particular a strong
position in publishing and is the largest group in Swedish daily
press.
Schibsted have offered shares in Svenska Dagbladet to a group of
Swedish regional newspapers, and also to the Finnish Sanoma
corporation, which is the largest Finnish media corporation with
substantial influence in print and television.
The Schibsted company is a traditionally family-owned newspaper
company, supporting conservative culture and values. In 1991 the
company went public, and later have invested heavily also in
television and new media - still with a financial basis in daily
press. Today the company have a very strong position in Norwegian
print and Television, and is to some extent cooperating with the
social-democratic press. The take-over of Aftonbladet, from the
Swedish national trade union, and Svenska Dagbladet represents the
largest investments abroad for Schibsted. But according to its own
long term planning, Schibsted annually will carry out takeovers at
this size in the years to come, so one can expect more to come from
this fast expanding Norwegian media conglomerate.
By Johann Roppen
Research Fellow, University of Bergen, Norway
jr@hivolda.no