Mass media market contracted in 2020

The value of the mass media market was about EUR 3.8 billion in 2020. The value of the market contracted by 3.1 per cent or EUR 120 million compared to the year before. The data are based on the calculations of Statistics Finland's mass media and cultural statistics.

Mass media market 2019 - 2020, EUR million

Mass media	2019 EUR mill.	2020 EUR mill.	2020 %	Change 2019-2020, %
Daily newspapers (7-4 times a week) ¹⁾	734	679	17.9	-7.5
Other newspapers ¹⁾	129	118	3.1	-8.5
Free-distribution papers ¹⁾	57	43	1.1	-24.6
Magazines and periodicals ¹⁾	400	370	9.8	-7.5
Books ²⁾	526	489	12.9	-7.2
Publishing, total	1 846	1 699	44.9	-8.0
Television ³⁾	1 307	1 339	35.4	2.4
Radio	75	60	1.6	-19.6
Internet advertising	460	528	14.0	14.8
Electronic media, total	1 842	1 927	50.9	4.6
Audio recordings4) ⁴⁾	89	93	2.5	4.4
Videos (dvd, blu-ray)	23	19	0.5	-18.2
Cinemas	104	46	1.2	-55.3
Recorded media, total	216	158	4.2	-26.7
All total	3 904	3 784	100.0	-3.1

1) Digital newspapers 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).

The value of the publishing industry weakened in all sectors included in Statistics Finland's calculations (incl. newspapers, free papers, magazines and periodicals and books). The share of advertising in newspapers’ revenue contracted further. (Appendix table 2.)

The value of electronic media (incl. television, radio, Internet advertising) exceeded the value of the publishing industry for the first time in Statistics Finland's calculation. The growth of the mass media market has in recent years centred on electronic media as the publishing industry shrinks.

Mass media market by sector in 2000 to 2020, EUR million

In 2020, the television industry was the biggest individual media industry with its volume of over EUR 1.3 billion. This corresponds to good one-third of the media market. The television industry includes the entire activity of the Finnish Broadcasting Company, television advertising and subscription fees to television services, which are cable TV basic fees and pay TV fees, including video on demand services (See Appendix table 5) The figures on pay TV activities and income from subscription fees 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 two per cent compared to the previous year. According to data collected by Kantar TNS, television advertising contracted compared to the previous year, although the volume of online advertising grew.

According to Kantar’s data, Internet advertising grew by over 15 per cent from the previous year and was EUR 528 million in 2020. The share of online advertising was thus almost one-half of all media advertising (around EUR 1.1 billion).

Besides television operations and Internet advertising, only sound recording sales grew in 2020 (+4% from 2019) among the sectors included in Statistics Finland's media market calculations. Most of the recording sales are digital sales, incl. listening via the streaming service Spotify. Private radio activities decreased as advertising sales went down by around 20 per cent from 2019. However, online advertising on the radio grew, but overall it is still quite modest.

Cinemas suffered particularly heavily from the restrictions on gatherings aimed at curbing the pandemic. Sales in cinemas contracted by 55 per cent from the previous year.

The figure describing physical video recording markets (incl. DVD, Blu-ray) is based on a calculation commissioned by the Finnish Film Foundation. The sales of video recordings continued to decrease between 2019 and 2020. However, the enchantment of moving pictures has not fallen in recent years but rather grown when the number of subscribers to video on demand services are taken into consideration. In Statistics Finland's calculations of the mass media market, households' fees for video on demand services are currently included in the television industry.

Before the corona pandemic, the mass media market grew for four successive years. In 2012 to 2015, the mass media market contracted for 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, when it dropped by five per cent from the previous year.

According to the calculations of the statistics on mass media, the corona year 2020 did not entail a drop in the mass media market like the one experienced during the financial crisis. The pandemic has increased Finns' need for information, for example, some newspapers managed to increase their subscriber numbers. There has been demand for entertainment and experiences during the shutdown period in society. The media has played a key role in meeting these needs. More detailed information on the development of the media sector during the pandemic can be found in the Finnish mass media statistics review (published on 3 December 2021 in Finnish).

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 - 2020, per cent (3.12.2021)
Appendix table 2. Breakdown of newspaper sales 2000 - 2020, per cent (3.12.2021)
Appendix table 3. Breakdown of magazine sales 2000 - 2020, per cent (3.12.2021)
Appendix table 4. Radio advertising 2000 - 2020, per cent (3.12.2021)
Appendix table 5. Television (terrestrial + cable + satellite) revenue 2000 - 2020, per cent (3.12.2021)

Updated 3.12.2021

Referencing instructions:

Official Statistics of Finland (OSF): Mass media statistics [e-publication].
ISSN=2323-6345. 2020. Helsinki: Statistics Finland [referred: 26.12.2024].
Access method: http://www.stat.fi/til/jvie/2020/jvie_2020_2021-12-03_tie_001_en.html