Mass media market grew marginally in 2019

The value of the mass media market was about EUR 3.9 billion in 2019. Compared to the year before, the value of the market grew by 0.5 per cent or EUR 19 million. The data are based on the calculations of Statistics Finland's mass media and cultural statistics.

Mass media market 2018 - 2019, EUR million

	2018 EUR mill.	2019 EUR mill.	2019 %	Change 2018-2019, %
Daily newspapers (7-4 times a week) ¹⁾	758	734	18.9	-3.2
Other newspapers ¹⁾	131	129	3.3	-1.5
Free-distribution papers ¹⁾	63	57	1.5	-9.5
Magazines and periodicals ¹⁾	440	400	10.3	-9.1
Books ²⁾	545	526	13.6	-3.4
Publishing, total	1,937	1,846	47.6	-4.7
Television ³⁾	1,220	1,280	33.0	4.9
Radio	71	73	1.9	3.2
Internet advertising	421	460	11.9	9.3
Electronic media, total	1,712	1,813	46.8	5.9
Audio recordings ⁴⁾	81	89	2.3	9.3
Videos (dvd, blu-ray)	29	23	0.6	-19.2
Cinemas	97	104	2.7	6.6
Recorded media, total	207	216	5.6	4.1
All total	3,856	3,875	100.0	0.5
Source: Statistics Finland, Mass media and cultural statistics

1) Digital publications included since 2010.
2) Electronic publications included (incl. audiobooks).
3) Including VOD. Including all Yle public service (tv, radio, web-service).
4) Including digital sales (incl. Spotify).

In 2019, sales in the publishing industry weakened in all industries included in Statistics Finland's calculation (incl. newspapers, free papers, magazines and periodicals and books). At the same time, the share of advertising in newspapers’ income contracted further. Especially in the income of daily newspapers, the significance of circulation income has become emphasised in the 2010s. Less frequently published newspapers have managed to retain their advertising sales better in the 2010s than daily newspapers. (Appendix table 2.)

Value added tax on digital newspapers decreased to 10 per cent in July 2019. Because monthly sales figures are not available, annual sales have been calculated in the statistics according to the lowered value added tax. The actual sales of dailies, in particular, are thus slightly higher than indicated by the statistics. According to the Finnish Newspaper Association, digital products account for around 17 per cent of the net sales of newspapers, so the statistical method does not have a significant effect on the overall picture of the mass media market calculations.

In 2019, television was the biggest individual media industry with a volume of nearly EUR 1.3 billion, which corresponds to one-third of the entire media market. In the calculation, the television industry includes the entire activity of the Finnish Broadcasting Company, television advertising in commercial television and subscription fees to television services, which are cable TV basic fees and pay TV fees (incl. video on demand services such as Netflix). The figures on pay TV activities and income from video on demand services compiled by the mass media statistics are, however, rough estimates based primarily on changes in the number of subscribers. Data on the number of subscribers are collected, for example, by Finnpanel.

The television industry grew, boosted by pay TV and, in particular, fees for video on demand services, by around five per cent compared to the previous year. In addition to international video on demand services (especially Netflix and HBO Nordic), the services of domestic and Nordic actors (e.g. Ruutu+, C More and Viaplay) also increased their number of subscribers. According to data collected by Kantar TNS, television advertising contracted compared to the previous year. The share of advertising in the income of all television activities has decreased considerably in the 2010s, because the growth in the industry has mainly occurred in pay TV activities. (Appendix table 5.)

Likewise according to data collected by Kantar, Internet advertising grew by nine per cent from the year before and amounted to EUR 460 million in 2019. According to data collected by IAB Finland, nearly 60 per cent of Finland's Internet advertising in 2019 trickled to international technology giants, Google and Facebook.

The year 2019 was also favourable for audio media: commercial radio grew by around three per cent and audio recordings by around nine per cent from the previous year. The figures are based on data from the industry association RadioMedia and the music information centre Music Finland, whereby recording sales take into account not only sales based on the data of IFPI Finland but also recording sales by parties outside the association. The recording sales calculations for 2017 and 2018 of the mass media statistics have been corrected to correspond to the more comprehensive calculations of Music Finland. Most of the recording sales are digital sales, incl. listening via the streaming service Spotify.

Cinemas attracted a large audience and had high ticket revenue again in 2019. According to Kantar, cinema advertising went up by 13 per cent from the previous year.

The figure describing physical video recording markets (incl. DVD, Blu-ray) is now for the second year based on a calculation commissioned by the Finnish Film Foundation. In previous years, the data have been based on wholesale statistics of video recordings compiled by the Finnish Chamber of Films and calculations published by the European Audiovisual Observatory (EAO) in its yearbook. The EAO has revised its calculations for 2014 to 2017, which has been taken into account in the time series published by Statistics Finland in autumn 2020.

According to the Finnish Film Foundation's calculation, the sales of video recordings continued to decrease between 2018 and 2019. However, the enchantment of moving pictures has not decreased in the 2010s but rather grown when the popularity of video on demand services is taken into consideration. In Statistics Finland's calculations of mass media markets, households' fees for video on demand services are currently included in the television industry.

In Statistics Finland's estimate, the mass media market increased for the fourth consecutive year. In 2012 to 2015, the mass media market contracted four years in a row. Also, in connection with the 2009 financial crisis, the value of the mass media market decreased compared to the year before. In all, the value of the mass media market has increased over the examined period of good two decades.

The growth of the industry has focused on electronic communication as the publishing industry has contracted. In Finland, the size of the media market has not changed significantly in the 2010s, but within the media field the shift in focus from print media to electronic communication has occurred quite rapidly.

Figure 1. Changes in the mass media market in 2009 to 2019, %

Source: Statistics Finland, Mass media and cultural statistics

Despite the slight growth recorded now, the size of the mass media market relative to the gross domestic product contracted further in 2019. In 2019, the share of the mass media in the entire national economy was 1.6 per cent according to preliminary calculations, while it was still 2.1 per cent ten years earlier.

The calculations presented here describe the mass media market at end user level: for example, the figure on the newspaper market is comprised of retail priced subscription and single copy sales of newspapers, and their revenue from advertising. The figures cover domestic production and imports but not exports. There is some overlap between Internet advertising and other media groups.

Source: Mass media and cultural statistics. Statistics Finland

Inquiries: Kaisa Saarenmaa 029 551 3517, joukkoviestimet.tilastokeskus@stat.fi

Head of Department in charge: Hannele Orjala

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Appendix tables

Appendix table 1. Sector shares of the mass media market 2000 - 2019, per cent (4.12.2020)
Appendix table 2. Breakdown of newspaper sales 2000 - 2019, per cent (4.12.2020)
Appendix table 3. Breakdown of magazine sales 2000 - 2019, per cent (4.12.2020)
Appendix table 4. Radio advertising 2000 - 2019, per cent (4.12.2020)
Appendix table 5. Television (terrestrial + cable + satellite) revenue 2000 - 2019, per cent (4.12.2020)

Updated 4.12.2020

Referencing instructions:

Official Statistics of Finland (OSF): Mass media statistics [e-publication].
ISSN=2323-6345. 2019. Helsinki: Statistics Finland [referred: 24.11.2024].
Access method: http://www.stat.fi/til/jvie/2019/jvie_2019_2020-12-04_tie_001_en.html