Pay Models in European News

Pay Models: A General Overview

Pay models are becoming an important part of the business of digital news, as legacy revenues continue to erode, and digital advertising revenues increasingly go to large technology companies like Google and Facebook who are able to offer advertisers unduplicated reach, targeted advertising, and low rates. In most countries, it is still only a minority of news lovers who pay for online news (Newman et al 2016). But more and more news organisations are implementing pay models and some, including both newspapers and digital-born news media, have built impressive subscriber bases (Mediabriefing 2017).

The purpose of this RISJ factsheet is to present an overview of the diffusion of different forms of pay models (freemium, metered paywalls, hard paywalls) across a sample of various kinds of news organisations (broadcasters, digital-born, news magazines, and newspapers) in six different European markets (Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, and the United Kingdom).

Based on a sample of 171 of the most important news organisations in these six countries, we find that:

66% percent of the newspapers operate a pay model. Freemium models, where some content is freely available, but premium material only available for paying users, are the most widely used, followed by metered paywalls that allow free access to a limited number of articles each month before requiring payment.

71% of weekly newspapers and news magazines operate a pay model. Again, freemium models are the most widely used, followed by metered paywalls.

All broadcasters offer free access to their digital news. This includes both private sector broadcasters like RTL in Germany or TF1 in France and public service media like the BBC in the UK or RAI in Italy.

Almost all (97%) the digital-born news media offer free access to their news. This includes both
domestic digital-born sites like t-online.de in Germany or Fanpage in Italy and US-based international players like BuzzFeed and the Huffington Post. Mediapart in France is the only digital-born organisation in our sample that operates a pay model.

Looking only at those news organisations who operate a pay model, the average price for the cheapest available monthly subscription (without discounts) is €13.64 (£11.56). Prices range from €2.10 (£1.78) to €54.27 (£46) a month.

We thus find that most newspapers and news magazines across Europe are moving away from digital news offered for free and supported primarily by display advertising, and are cultivating a wider range of sources of revenue, including various pay models in addition to native advertising, ecommerce, events etc. (Cornia et al., 2016). Some digital-born news media, like Mediapart, or beyond our case countries other organisations like DeCorrespondent in the Netherlands, El Diario in Spain, and Zetland in Denmark, are also building their business at least in part around paying members/subscribers (Nicholls et al. 2016).

However, a multitude of other news organisations in our sample, including digital-born news media (97%), most mid-market and tabloid newspapers (75%), and both private sector broadcasters (100%) and public service media (100%) continue to offer free access to digital news. Across our sample of 171 major news organisations in six countries, 54% offer free access to their digital news content, and continue to draw their revenues primarily from either advertising, legacy operations, or public funding. (See Figure 1 and Table 1 for details.)

Figure one FINAL

Figure 1. Free and pay models by media type

Country Differences

The six countries we cover represent a wide range of different European media systems, including countries with a long history of strong private sector and public service media as well as countries with historically weaker private sector media and less well-funded and widely used public service media, countries with different levels of advertising expenditure, different market sizes, and different degrees of direct competition from international content.

Comparing results across Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, and the United Kingdom, we find interesting differences (see Figure 2 and Table 2 for details):

A much larger share of newspapers and news weeklies in Finland (87%), France (95%), and Poland (90%) have adopted pay models. These are markets that are either dominated by a limited number of very strong incumbents (like Finland) or markets where the digital display advertising market is very small (like Poland).

By contrast, in both Italy and the United Kingdom, the majority of newspapers and weeklies in our sample continue to offer free access to their digital news. In Germany, almost half (48%) of newspapers and weeklies in our sample offer free access to news. These are very competitive markets where even leading titles are worried about losing market share if they implement pay models.

Monthly prices vary across titles and countries (see Figure 2). Looking specifically at newspapers and weeklies, Poland has the lowest average monthly price at €7.21 (£6.11), ranging from €2.10 (£1.78) to €28.14 (£23.85). The UK has the lowest percentage of newspapers and weeklies with pay models, but the highest average monthly price at €22.26 (£18.87), ranging from €9.44 (£8) to €54.27 (£46).

Prices vary by model. Metered models average €15.80 (£13.39) and range from €4.71 (£3.99) to €34.99 (£29.66). Freemium models are on average cheaper at €11.69 (£9.91), ranging from €2.10 (£1.78) to €44.90 (£38.06). The prices for content on websites with hard paywalls vary the most, with prices between €3.94 (£3.34) and €54.27 (£46) per month.

Prices vary by content (business, up-market, mid-market, tabloid papers). Business newspapers are unsurprisingly clearly more expensive than others, with an average monthly price of €25.67 (£21.76) across the six countries (varying from €6.71 (£5.69) to €54.27 (£46)).

The content and services offered varies as much as the pay models and prices themselves. Some news organisations include in their minimum price offer only access to their news on the websites, whereas others opt to charge more and also offer other services (e.g. the digital version of the printed newspaper, mobile apps dedicated to subscribers, archive).

Figure two FINAL

Figure 2. Average monthly price across countries (newspapers and weeklies with pay model only)

It also has to be noted that news organisations that offer free access might, in a few cases, ask for other forms of compensation. For example, the Finish regional newspaper Huvudstadsbladet only allows users to read articles for free when they have registered with an account (or also possible through Facebook or Google+). Another strategy is followed by the German regional newspaper Rheinische Post. The access is free; however, if users prefer not to see advertisements, they need to subscribe and to pay at least €4.99 (£4.23) per month.

The Sample

The 171 news organisations included were sampled as follows. For each country, we selected:

15 national and regional newspapers with the highest print circulation according to national official sources.1

Up to 3 weekly newspapers or news magazines per country based on their print circulation or reach according to national sources or the Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2016 (DNR 2016).2

Up to 5 broadcasters – public service and commercial – based on their reach for TV news according to national official sources or the Digital News Report 2016.3

The 5 digital born news websites (domestic and/or international) in a broad sense with the highest reach in each of the countries based on comScore data for reach within the countries in January 2017.

Because national media markets differ significantly from country to country, the sample is not entirely symmetrical. To avoid leaving out individually important sites not captured by the overall sampling, we have strategically added up to four additional news organisations in each country – ranging from digital-born news media like Mediapart in France to national newspapers like Die Welt or die tageszeitung (taz) in Germany – that we knew in advance are important parts of the overall media landscape and represent important examples of digital journalism, even if they would not have been selected according to reach alone.

Our sample thus includes a total of 171 of the most important news organisations across the six countries covered, but leaves out a number of smaller news organisations, including many local and regional ones. In each country, we have coded between 22 and 31 of the most important news organisations. The data was collected between 14 and 21 April 2017 and represents a snapshot of rapidly evolving markets. Exchange rates for currency conversation are from 15 April 2017. Please see the separate Appendix for the full list of organisations included in our sample and more detail on each title.

Summary

It is clear that growth in the number of people paying for news is in most cases incremental and that reader revenues, though growing, are rarely making up for declining legacy revenues and a difficult digital advertising market. But a growing number of news organisations across Europe have challenged the assumption that people will not pay for digital news and are developing pay models. And, encouragingly, research suggests that some people across all age groups, including younger media users, are willing to pay for quality content and services online that they find valuable and useful (Fletcher and Nielsen 2016). The challenge for news organisations now is to deliver such quality content and services, to develop products that provide the kind of user experience and convenience that people have come to expect from digital media, and to market their offers to the many who are currently not paying for journalism, but might do so in the future.

Tables

Table 1. Pay models across media types

Free access

Freemium

Metered paywall

Hard paywall

N

Newspapers

34%

41%

21%

3%

99

Weeklies

29%

53%

12%

6%

17

TV

100%

0%

0%

0%

23

Digital Born

97%

0%

0%

3%

32

Total

54%

29%

14%

3%

171

Note: In the case of a combination of a metered model and premium content, we coded the offer as “metered paywall”. Differences to 100% for the media types are due to rounding.

Table 2. Pay models across countries (newspapers and weeklies only)

Free access

Freemium

Metered paywall

Hard paywall

Average monthly price (pay models only)

N

Finland

13%

47%

40%

0%

15.03

(£12.74)

15

France

5%

67%

29%

0%

13.97

(£11.84)

21

Germany

48%

38%

14%

0%

17.64

(£14.95)

21

Italy

60%

25%

15%

0%

14.24

(£12.07)

20

Poland

10%

71%

10%

10%

7.21

(£6.11)

21

UK

67%

6%

17%

11%

22.26

(£18.87)

18

Total

35%

43%

19%

3%

13.67

(£11.59)

116

Note: In the case of a combination of a metered model and premium content, we coded the offer as “metered paywall”. Total may differ from 100% due to rounding. Exchange rate at 15 April 2017.

References

Cornia, A., Sehl, A., and Nielsen, R. K. 2016. Private Sector Media and Digital News. Oxford: Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.

Fletcher, R., and Nielsen, R. K. 2016. ‘Paying for Online News’. Digital Journalism, Pre-published online 28 October. DOI: 10.1080/21670811.2016.1246373

Mediabriefing, 2017. ‘Europe’s successful paid content strategies.’ https://www.themediabriefing.com/article/key-takeaways-from-the-europe-s-successful-paid-content-strategies-report (Accessed May 2017.)

Newman, N., Fletcher, R., Nielsen, R. K., and Levy, D. 2016. Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2016. Oxford: Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.

Nicholls, T., Shabbir, N., and Nielsen, R. K. 2016. Digital-Born News Media in Europe. Oxford: Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.

Schröder, J. 2017. ‘Die große Auflagen-Analyse der Regionalzeitungen: die 78 größten Titel auf einen Blick’, Meedia, 23 Jan., http://meedia.de/2017/01/23/die-grosse-auflagen-analyse-der-regionalzeitungen-die-78-groessten-titel-auf-einen-blick/ (Accessed May 2017.)

Zubayr, C., and Gerhard, H. 2016. ’Tendenzen im Zuschauerverhalten. Fernsehgewohnheiten und Fernsehreichweite im Jahr 2015’, Media Perspektiven 3, 142-155.

11437.png

1 FIN: Media Audit Finland 2014; FR: Alliance pour les chiffres de la presse et des medias 2016; GER: IVW Q4/2016 (plus overview of largest regional newspapers/publishing groups on Meedia (2017)); IT: Accertamenti Diffusione Stampa, December 2016; POL: ZKDP – ABC Poland 2015; UK: ABC, January 2017. In a few cases in Germany, where publishing houses do not publish the circulation of individual newspapers, but only the aggregated circulation of several newspapers of the group, we selected the publishing group according to the circulation and only then one of their newspapers.

2 FR, GER, IT, POL: DNR 2016; UK: ABC, second half of 2016. In Finland, due to the limited significance of weeklies, they were not included in the sample.

3 FIN, FR, POL, UK: DNR 2016; GER: AGF in collaboration with GfK, TV Scope, Fernsehpanel (D+EU), In Zubayr & Gerhard (2016, p. 148), p. 148; Italy: AGCOM 2016.

About the Authors

Alessio Cornia is Research Fellow at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford

Annika Sehl is Research Fellow at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford

Felix Simon is a journalist and a graduate student at the Oxford Internet Institute at the University of Oxford

Rasmus Kleis Nielsen is Director of Research at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford

Appendix

Organisations included in the study

See the main document for the sample strategy behind the sites selected. In cases where subscriptions are sold on a weekly basis, monthly prices are for four weeks. Source for online reach: comScore MMX Key Measures, % reach desktop only, January 2017, Finland/France/Germany/Italy/Poland/UK.

Finland

Brand

Website URL

Type of media

Pay model

Online reach in %

Monthly price

Helsingin Sanomat

www.hs.fi

Up-market newspaper

Metered paywall

32

€16.50

(£13.99)

Maaseudun Tulevaisuus

www.maaseuduntulevaisuus.fi

Up-market newspaper

Free access

2

Ilta-Sanomat

www.is.fi

Mid-market/tabloid newspaper

Freemium

51

€9.90

(£8.39)

Iltalehti

www.iltalehti.fi

Mid-market/tabloid newspaper

Freemium

45

€8.90

(£7.54)

Kauppalehti

www.kauppalehti.fi

Business newspaper

Metered paywall

n/a

€24.90

(£21.11)

Aamulehti

www.aamulehti.fi

Regional newspaper

Metered paywall

14

€15.00

(£12.71)

Etelä-Suomen Sanomat

www.ess.fi

Regional newspaper

Freemium

4

€14.50

(£12.29)

Huvudstadsbladet

www.hbl.fi

Regional newspaper

Freemium

1

€14.99

(£12.71)

Ilkka

www.ilkka.fi

Regional newspaper

Freemium

3

€19.00

(£16.11)

Kaleva

www.kaleva.fi

Regional newspaper

Free access

8

Karjalainen

www.karjalainen.fi

Regional newspaper

Freemium

2

€18.00

(£15.26)

Keskisuomalainen

www.ksml.fi

Regional newspaper

Metered paywall

4

€19.62

(£16.63)

Satakunnan Kansa

www.satakunnankansa.fi

Regional newspaper

Metered paywall

4

€15.00

(£12.71)

Savon Sanomat

www.savonsanomat.fi

Regional newspaper

Metered paywall

5

€11.10

(£9.41)

Turun Sanomat

www.ts.fi

Regional newspaper

Freemium

4

€7.90

(£6.70)

MTV

www.mtv.fi

Commercial TV

Free access

n/a

Yle

www.yle.fi/uutiset

Public service media organisation

Free access

30

Uusi Suomi

www.uusisuomi.fi

Digital born, domestic

Free access

9

verkkouutiset

www.verkkouutiset.fi

Digital born, domestic

Free access

2

BuzzFeed

www.buzzfeed.com

Digital born, international

Free access

2

Delfi

www.delfi.ee

Digital born, international

Free access

1

Mashable

www.mashable.com

Digital born, international

Free access

1

France

Brand

Website URL

Type of media

Pay model

Online reach in %

Monthly price

L’Humanité

www.humanite.fr

Up-market newspaper (added)*

Freemium

1

€20.00 (£16.95)

La Croix

www.la-croix.com

Up-market newspaper (added)*

Metered paywall

2

€17.00 (£14.41)

Le Figaro

www.lefigaro.fr

Up-market newspaper

Freemium

20

€8.90 (£7.54)

Le Monde

www.lemonde.fr

Up-market newspaper

Freemium

19

€17.90 (£15.17)

Liberation

www.liberation.fr

Up-market newspaper (added)*

Metered paywall

5

€8.90 (£7.54)

Les Echos

www.lesechos.fr

Business newspaper

Metered paywall

5

€17.00 (£14.41)

Dernières Nouvelles d’Alsace

www.dna.fr

Regional newspaper

Freemium

1

€19.90 (£16.87)

L’Est Républicain

www.estrepublicain.fr

Regional newspaper

Freemium

1

€19.00 (£16.11)

La Dépêche du Midi

www.ladepeche.fr

Regional newspaper

Freemium

4

€9.90 (£8.39)

La Montagne

www.lamontagne.fr

Regional newspaper

Freemium

1

€14.50 (£12.29)

La Nouvelle République du Centre-Ouest

www.lanouvellerepublique.fr

Regional newspaper

Free access

2

La Voix du Nord

www.lavoixdunord.fr

Regional newspaper

Metered paywall

3

€19.90 (£16.87)

Le Dauphiné Libéré

www.ledauphine.com

Regional newspaper

Freemium

3

€24.90 (£21.11)

Le Parisien

www.leparisien.fr

Regional newspaper

Metered paywall

13

€9.99 (£8.47)

Le Progrés

www.leprogres.fr

Regional newspaper

Freemium

2

€19.90 (£16.87)

Le Télégramme

www.letelegramme.fr

Regional newspaper

Metered paywall

2

€14.99 (£12.71)

Ouest France

www.ouest-france.fr

Regional newspaper

Freemium

8

€4.99 (£4.23)

Sud Ouest

www.sudouest.fr

Regional newspaper

Freemium

3

€9.90 (£8.39)

L’Obs

www.tempsreel.nouvelobs.com

Weekly newspaper/news magazine

Freemium

12

€3.90 (£3.31)

L’Express

www.lexpress.fr

Weekly newspaper/news magazine

Freemium

11

€7.99 (£6.77)

Le Point

www.lepoint.fr

Weekly newspaper/news magazine

Freemium

6

€9.90 (£8.39)

France Télévisions

www.francetvinfo.fr

Public service media organisation

Free access

13

BFM TV

www.bfmtv.com

Commercial TV

Free access

11

CNews/CanalPlus

www.cnews.fr

Commercial TV

Free access

n/a

Brand

Website URL

Type of media

Pay model

Online reach in %

Monthly price

TF1/LCI

www.lci.fr

Commercial TV

Free access

6

L’Internaute

www.linternaute.com

Digital born, domestic

Free access

23

Mediapart

www.mediapart.fr

Digital born, domestic (added)*

Hard paywall

2

€11.00 (£9.32)

BuzzFeed

www.buzzfeed.com

Digital born, international

Free access

2

Huffington Post

www.huffingtonpost.fr

Digital born, international

Free access

7

Mashable (with France 24)

www.mashable.france24.com

Digital born, international

Free access

1

Slate

www.slate.fr

Digital born, international

Free access

3

* In order to avoid leaving out important sites not captured by the overall sampling, this news outlet was strategically added to the original selection.

Germany

Brand

Website URL

Type of media

Pay model

Online reach in %

Monthly price

Die Welt

www.welt.de

Up-market newspaper (added)*

Freemium

10

€9.99 (£8.47)

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

www.faz.net

Up-market newspaper

Freemium

6

€44.90 (£38.06)

Süddeutsche Zeitung

www.sueddeutsche.de

Up-market newspaper

Metered paywall

6

€34.99 (£29.66)

die tageszeitung (taz)

www.taz.de

Up-market newspaper (added)*

Free access (combined with membership and voluntary payment)

1

Bild**

www.bild.de

Mid-market/tabloid newspaper

Freemium

15

€4.99 (£4.23)

Handelsblatt

www.handelsblatt.com

Business newspaper (added)*

Freemium

3

€34.99 (£29.66)

Augsburger Allgemeine**

www.augsburger-allgemeine.de

Regional newspaper

Metered paywall

2

€8.99 (£7.62)

Freie Presse

www.freiepresse.de

Regional newspaper

Metered paywall

1

€4.99 (£4.23)

HAZ

www.haz.de

Regional newspaper

Freemium

1

€8.99 (£7.62)

Kölner Stadtanzeiger**

www.ksta.de

Regional newspaper

Free access

1

Münchner Merkur

www.merkur.de

Regional newspaper

Free access

2

Nürnberger Nachrichten

www.nordbayern.de

Regional newspaper

Free access

n/a

Regional newspapers Funke media group (WAZ+NRZ+WP+WR)+IKZ

www.derwesten.de

Regional newspaper

Free access

2

Rheinische Post

www.rp-online.de

Regional newspaper

Free access

5

Südwest Presse

www.swp.de

Regional newspaper

Free access

1

Thüringer Allgemeine**

www.thueringer-allgemeine.de

Regional newspaper

Freemium

1

€7.99 (£6.77)

Westfälische Nachrichten**

www.wn.de

Regional newspaper

Free access

1

Der Focus

www.focus.de

Weekly newspaper/news magazine

Free access

14

Der Spiegel

www.spiegel.de

Weekly newspaper/news magazine

Freemium

13

€15.60 (£13.22)

Die Zeit

www.zeit.de

Weekly newspaper/magazine (added)

Freemium

6

€17.60 (£14.92)

Stern

www.stern.de

Weekly newspaper/news magazine

Free access

7

ARD

www.tagesschau.de

Public service media organisation

Free access

4

ZDF

www.heute.de

Public service media organisation

Free access

1

Brand

Website URL

Type of media

Pay model

Online reach in %

Monthly price

ProSieben

www.prosieben.de

Commercial TV

Free access

n/a

 –

RTL

www.rtl.de

Commercial TV

Free access

n/a

SAT.1

www.sat1.de

Commercial TV

Free access

n/a

Heftig

www.heftig.de

Digital born, domestic

Free access

2

news.de

www.news.de

Digital born, domestic

Free access

2

t-online

www.t-online.de

Digital born, domestic

Free access

6

BuzzFeed

www.buzzfeed.com

Digital born, international

Free access

1

Huffington Post

www.huffingtonpost.de

Digital born, international

Free access

5

* In order to avoid leaving out important sites not captured by the overall sampling, this news outlet was strategically added to the original selection.

** Only the names of newspapers are listed here, while the selection for all cases marked with a ** was based on an aggregated level of several newspapers of the same group (IVW-database).

Italy

Brand

Website URL

Type of media

Pay model

Online reach in %

Monthly price

Il Corriere della Sera

www.corriere.it

Up-market newspaper

Metered paywall

24

€9.99 (£8.47)

Il Fatto quotidiano

www.ilfattoquotidiano.it

Up-market newspaper

Freemium

10

€5.99 (£5.08)

Il Giornale

www.ilgiornale.it

Up-market newspaper

Free access

6

Il Manifesto

www.ilmanifesto.it

Up-market newspaper (added)*

Metered paywall

n/a

€20.00 (£16.95)

L’Avvenire

www.avvenire.it

Up-market newspaper

Free access

1

La Repubblica

www.repubblica.it

Up-market newspaper

Free access

25

Libero

www.liberoquotidiano.it

Up-market newspaper (added)*

Free access

5

Il Sole 24 Ore

www.ilsole24ore.com

Business newspaper

Metered paywall

10

€20.00 (£16.95)

Il Gazzettino

www.ilgazzettino.it

Regional newspaper

Freemium

2

€15.99 (£13.55)

Il Messaggero

www.ilmessaggero.it

Regional newspaper

Freemium

5

€15.99 (£13.55)

Il Messaggero Veneto

www.messaggeroveneto.it

Regional newspaper

Free access

1

Il Secolo XIX

www.ilsecoloxix.it

Regional newspaper

Free access

2

Il Tirreno

www.iltirreno.gelocal.it

Regional newspaper

Free access

2

La Stampa

www.lastampa.it

Regional newspaper

Freemium

9

€19.99 (£16.94)

QN-Il Giorno

www.ilgiorno.it

Regional newspaper

Free access

1

QN-Il Resto del Carlino

www.ilrestodelcarlino.it

Regional newspaper

Free access

2

QN-La Nazione

www.lanazione.it

Regional newspaper

Free access

1

L’Espresso

www.espresso.repubblica.it

Weekly newspaper/news magazine

Freemium

3

€5.99 (£5.08)

Panorama

www.panorama.it

Weekly newspaper/news magazine

Free access

2

 –

L’internazionale

www.internazionale.it

Weekly newspaper/news magazine

Free access

2

RAI

www.rainews.it

Public service media organisation

Free access

4

 –

MEDIASET

www.tgcom24.mediaset.it

Commercial TV

Free access

7

La7

www.tg.la7.it

Commercial TV

Free access

n/a

Sky Italia

www.tg24.sky.it

Commercial TV

Free access

n/a

Brand

Website URL

Type of media

Pay model

Online reach in %

Monthly price

Blogo

www.blogo.it

Digital born, domestic

Free access

6

 –

Diariodelweb.it

www.diariodelweb.it

Digital born, domestic

Free access

11

 –

Blastingnews

www.it.blastingnews.com

Digital born, domestic

Free access

9

 –

Fanpage

www.fanpage.it

Digital born, domestic

Free access

6

Citynews

www.romatoday.it

Digital born, domestic (added)*

Free access

2

Huffington Post

www.huffingtonpost.it

Digital born, international

Free access

5

* In order to avoid leaving out important sites not captured by the overall sampling, this news outlet was strategically added to the original selection.

Poland

Brand

Website URL

Type of media

Pay model

Online reach in %

Monthly price

Gazeta Wyborcza

www.wyborcza.pl

Up-market newspaper

Metered paywall

10

zł 19.90 (£3.99)

Rzeczpospolita

www.rp.pl

Up-market newspaper

Metered paywall

5

zł 119.00 (£23.85)

Nasz Dziennik

www.naszdziennik.pl

Up-market newspaper (added)*

Freemium

0.2

zł 32.20 (£6.45)

Fakt Gazeta Codzienna

www.fakt.pl

Mid-market/tabloid newspaper

Free access

11

 –

Super Express

www.se.pl

Mid-market/tabloid newspaper

Free access

10

Dziennik Gazeta Prawna

www.gazetaprawna.pl

Business newspaper

Freemium

4

zł 97.90 (£19.62)

Gazeta Podatkowa

www.gazetapodatkowa.gofin.pl

Business newspaper

Freemium

n/a

zł 28.38 (£5.69)

Puls Biznesu

www.pb.pl

Business newspaper (added)*

Hard paywall

2

zł 79.00 (£15.83)

Echo Dnia

www.echodnia.eu

Regional newspaper

Freemium

2

zł 14.90 (£2.99)

Express Ilustrowany

www.expressilustrowany.pl

Regional newspaper

Freemium

2

zł 14.90 (£2.99)

Gazeta Lubuska

www.gazetalubuska.pl

Regional newspaper

Freemium

1

zł 14.90 (£2.99)

Gazeta Pomorska

www.pomorska.pl

Regional newspaper

Freemium

2

zł 14.90 (£2.99)

Głos – Dziennik Pomorza

www.gs24.pl

Regional newspaper

Freemium

1

zł 14.90 (£2.99)

Polska Dziennik Bałtycki

www.dziennikbaltycki.pl

Regional newspaper

Freemium

1

zł 14.90 (£2.99)

Polska Dziennik Łódzki

www.dzienniklodzki.pl

Regional newspaper

Freemium

1

zł 14.90 (£2.99)

Polska Dziennik Zachodni

www.dziennikzachodni.pl

Regional newspaper

Freemium

3

zł 8.90 (£1.78)

Polska Głos Wielkopolski

www.gloswielkopolski.pl

Regional newspaper

Freemium

2

zł 14.90 (£2.99)

Gazeta Polska

www.gazetapolska.pl

Weekly newspaper/magazine (added)*

Hard paywall

1

zł 16.67 (£3.34)

Newsweek Polska

www.newsweek.pl

Weekly newspaper/news magazine

Freemium

5

zł 19.99 (£4.01)

Polityka

www.polityka.pl

Weekly newspaper/news magazine

Freemium

2

zł 18.99 (£3.81)

Wprost

www.wprost.pl

Weekly newspaper/news magazine

Freemium

2

zł 19.00

(£3.81)

TVP

www.tvp.info

Public service media organisation

Free access

2

Polsat

hwww.polsatnews.pl

Commercial TV

Free access

n/a

TVN

www.tvn24.pl

Commercial TV

Free access

n/a

Brand

Website URL

Type of media

Pay model

Online reach in %

Monthly price

interia

www.interia.pl

Digital born, domestic

Free access

6

niezależna

www.niezalezna.pl

Digital born, domestic

Free access

2

onet

www.onet.pl

Digital born, domestic

Free access

13

 –

Pikio

www.pikio.pl

Digital born, domestic

Free access

3

Wirtualna Polska

www.wp.pl

Digital born, domestic

Free access

14

* In order to avoid leaving out important sites not captured by the overall sampling, this news outlet was strategically added to the original selection.

The UK

Brand

Website URL

Type of media

Pay model

Online reach in %

Monthly price

Daily Telegraph

www.telegraph.co.uk

Up-market newspaper

Freemium

15

£8.00 (€9.44)

The Guardian

www.theguardian.com

Up-market newspaper

Free access (combined with membership)

17

The Times

www.thetimes.co.uk

Up-market newspaper

Hard paywall

2

£24.00 (€28.24)

Daily Express

www.express.co.uk

Mid-market/tabloid newspaper

Free access

8

Daily Mirror

www.mirror.co.uk

Mid-market/tabloid newspaper

Free access

10

Daily Record

www.dailyrecord.co.uk

Mid-market/tabloid newspaper

Free access

2

 –

Daily Star

www.dailystar.co.uk

Mid-market/tabloid newspaper

Free access

4

The Daily Mail

www.dailymail.co.uk

Mid-market/tabloid newspaper

Free access

19

The i

www.inews.co.uk

Mid-market/tabloid newspaper

Free access

1

 –

The Sun

www.thesun.co.uk

Mid-market/tabloid newspaper

Free access

1

Financial Times

www.ft.com

Business newspaper

Hard paywall

n/a

£46.00 (€54.27)

Aberdeen Press & Journal

www.pressandjournal.co.uk

Regional newspaper

Metered paywall

0.3

£10.00 (€11.80)

Express & Star

www.expressandstar.com

Regional newspaper

Free access

1

Liverpool Echo

www.liverpoolecho.co.uk

Regional newspaper

Free access

2

Manchester Evening News

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk

Regional newspaper

Free access

2

The Economist

www.economist.com

Weekly newspaper/news magazine

Metered paywall

1

£14.70 (€17.34)

The Spectator

www.spectator.co.uk

Weekly newspaper/news magazine

Metered paywall

1

£10.50 (€12.39)

The Week

www.theweek.co.uk

Weekly newspaper/news magazine

Free access

1

BBC

www.bbc.com

Public service media organisation

Free access

27

Channel 4

www.channel4.com/news

Public service media organisation

Free access

0.2

 –

Channel 5

www.channel5.com/show/5-news

Commercial TV

Free access

n/a

ITV

www.itv.com/news

Commercial TV

Free access

3

Sky

www.news.sky.com

Commercial TV

Free access

4

The Independent

www.independent.co.uk

Digital born, domestic

Free access

10

Brand

Website URL

Type of media

Pay model

Online reach in %

Monthly price

BuzzFeed

www.buzzfeed.com

Digital born, international

Free access

4

Huffington Post

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk

Digital born, international

Free access

3

Mashable

www.mashable.com

Digital born, international

Free access

2

Slate

www.slate.com

Digital born, international

Free access

1

  1. FIN: Media Audit Finland 2014; FR: Alliance pour les chiffres de la presse et des medias 2016; GER: IVW Q4/2016 (plus overview of largest regional newspapers/publishing groups on Meedia (2017)); IT: Accertamenti Diffusione Stampa, December 2016; POL: ZKDP – ABC Poland 2015; UK: ABC, January 2017. In a few cases in Germany, where publishing houses do not publish the circulation of individual newspapers, but only the aggregated circulation of several newspapers of the group, we selected the publishing group according to the circulation and only then one of their newspapers.
  2.  FR, GER, IT, POL: DNR 2016; UK: ABC, second half of 2016. In Finland, due to the limited significance of weeklies, they were not included in the sample.
  3. FIN, FR, POL, UK: DNR 2016; GER: AGF in collaboration with GfK, TV Scope, Fernsehpanel (D+EU), In Zubayr & Gerhard (2016, p. 148), p. 148; Italy: AGCOM 2016.