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Review · Media

Who owns and funds Swedish media?

Three groups — Bonnier News, Schibsted (Aftonbladet, SvD and others) and Gota Media — together control the majority of Swedish daily press measured by circulation (Nordicom/Media Authority). Public service has, since 2019, been funded by an individual public-service fee collected via the tax return. Below: ownership, funding and the trust curve — with no claims about quality or bias.

~2 in 3

Approximate combined circulation share of the three largest Swedish press groups (Bonnier News, Schibsted, Gota Media), Nordicom/Media Authority 2024–2025. Measured on reach or revenue instead of circulation shifts both the percentage and group ranking — Nordicom publishes several parallel indicators.

What we measure — and what we don't claim

Ownership and funding are measurable. Editorial quality and ‘bias’ are interpretations. We make no such claims here. Assertions that media ‘lie’ or are ‘politically skewed’ are not conclusions data unambiguously supports — and claims without sources would undermine this site's credibility, just as it would in the material we ourselves review.

Media trust — SOM Institute

1986–2023 · % reporting fairly/very high trust · Sweden

Sweden is a high-trust country — but trust in both daily press and public service has fallen from its 2020 peak. Full time-series at the SOM Institute, University of Gothenburg.

Media trust — SOM Institute: Swedish Radio (%) moves from 70 (2010) to 62 (2023) — down 8 percentage points. Full values are available in the data table below (1986–2023, Sweden).

Media trust — SOM Institute · % reporting fairly/very high trust · 1986–2023 · Sweden
YearSwedish Radio (%)Morning press (%)
20107038
20147136
20187341
20207446
20226539
20236236

Method: Share of SOM survey respondents reporting fairly or very high trust in each media institution. Annual values are rounded renderings of the SOM Institute's published time-series; wording has been stable but sampling methods have changed over time.

Source: SOM Institute, University of Gothenburg — Swedish trends (accessed 2026-07-27)

Ownership map — groups and brands

Bonnier News

Dagens Nyheter, Expressen, Dagens Industri, Sydsvenskan, HD and a large share of the country's local papers.

Schibsted

Aftonbladet, Svenska Dagbladet, Omni, Blocket. Norwegian-listed parent company (news operations separated as Schibsted Media in 2024).

Gota Media

Barometern, Borås Tidning, Smålandsposten and others. Broad base of regional dailies in Götaland.

Public-service funding

Until end-2018, SVT, SR and UR were funded through a household-based TV licence (Radiotjänst). From 1 January 2019 this was replaced by an individual public-service fee collected via the tax return. The ceiling is set annually by the tax agency (about SEK 1 300/year in 2024) and has been reduced in steps since 2019. The change moved funding from households to individuals — and from a separate agency to the tax agency — but not away from the public purse.

Media support (from 2024)

The former press subsidy was replaced from 1 January 2024 by a technology-neutral media support (SFS 2023:757), administered by the Media Authority. Funds are distributed by journalistic activity, geographic coverage and accessibility — not by political orientation. Annual figures are published in the Media Authority's annual report.

What the data does NOT say

  • — Ownership and funding say nothing about the quality, selection or angle of individual articles.
  • — Terms such as ‘biased’ or ‘left-leaning’ are evaluative and not what measurable data directly confirm — such claims belong in opinion, not in this review.
  • — Trust figures are self-reports in the SOM annual survey — they measure perception, not the truthfulness of reporting.
  • — Concentration measures vary depending on whether you count circulation, reach or revenue. Nordicom publishes several indicators.

See also

Media vs reality →Freedom of expression →Source in original →

The question this page answers

Who owns Swedish press, radio and TV — and how is it funded in 2024–2025?

At a glance

Key figures — the most important numbers on this page

Bonnier News, Schibsted, Gota Media

3 groups

Together control the majority of Swedish daily press by circulation (Nordicom/Media Authority 2024–2025). Exact share depends on whether you count circulation, reach or revenue.

Public service — three companies in foundation form

SVT · SR · UR

Owned by an independent management foundation; independence is regulated in the broadcasting licence 2026–2033.

Public-service fee introduced

2019

Replaced the household-based TV licence. An individual fee is collected via Sweden's tax agency from taxable income.

Public-service fee ceiling 2024

≈ 1 300 kr

The tax agency sets the amount annually. The fee has been reduced in steps since it was introduced.

State agency for media policy and support

Media Authority

Distributes media support (formerly press subsidies) and keeps statistics on the media market. Reformed in 2024 from the Broadcasting Authority.

Replaced the former press subsidy

Media support 2024–2025

New framework (SFS 2023:757). Distributed by journalistic activity, geography and accessibility — not by political orientation.

Jointly owned by Swedish media houses

TT News Agency

Central news agency delivering wire copy and photo to Swedish newsrooms.

Official media statistics

Nordicom

Publishes the Media Barometer and media-economic overviews at the University of Gothenburg.

What does the data show?

Objective observations — not interpretations

  • The Swedish daily press is dominated by three large groups in circulation; regional brands are preserved but concentrated in ownership.
  • Public service (SVT, SR, UR) has been run in foundation form since the 1990s and, since 2019, is funded via an individual public-service fee administered by the tax agency.
  • Commercial TV (TV4, Kanal 5, TV3) is today wholly owned by foreign groups (Telia Company/Warner Bros. Discovery, Viaplay Group).
  • The press subsidy became ‘media support’ in 2024 and disburses funds by journalistic activity and accessibility — not by editorial political orientation.
  • Ownership concentration can be measured in at least three ways: circulation (traditional method), reach (increasingly digital) and revenue (ads vs subscriptions). Method affects ranking.
  • Foreign ownership — Schibsted (Norway), Warner Bros. Discovery (USA), Viaplay/NENT (partly international) — is significant, especially in evening press and commercial TV.

Method note
Ownership structures change regularly — Schibsted split in 2024 into ‘Schibsted Media’ (news) and ‘Schibsted Marketplaces’, and Bonnier News has made several acquisitions. We always state year and source when a percentage or ownership structure is reported. Concentration measures depend on the base chosen; we avoid presenting a single figure as ‘the’ market share. For the public-service fee we use the tax agency's official amount table. Historical figures on press subsidies/media support follow the Media Authority's annual reports.

Definitions

How the numbers are counted — and what they do not cover

Daily press
News papers published at least once a week. Divided into morning press (e.g. DN, SvD, GP) and evening press (Aftonbladet, Expressen).
Few-days paper
Paper published 1–3 days a week. Formed the base for the earlier operational press subsidy.
Circulation
Average sold or distributed volume per publication day. Historically the metric for concentration analysis — increasingly less representative as subscriptions move digital.
Reach
Share of population exposed to the medium on an average day/week. Measured by Kantar Sifo Orvesto (press) and MMS (TV).
Public service
Radio and TV in the public interest, run with a democratic remit and independent of commercial and political interests. In Sweden: SVT, SR, UR.
Management foundation
Foundation tasked with holding ownership of SVT, SR and UR to safeguard independence. Government appoints its board.
Broadcasting licence
The government's licence document for public service for a licence period (current: 2026–2033). Sets remit, independence, budget, diversity requirements.
Public-service fee
Individual fee collected via the tax return from persons with taxable income. Introduced 2019. The tax agency sets the ceiling.
TV licence (until 2018)
Household-based fee paid to Radiotjänst i Kiruna AB. Replaced in 2019 by the individual public-service fee.
Media support
State support for news media (from 2024, SFS 2023:757). Replaced the former press subsidy. Distributed by the Media Authority by journalistic activity, accessibility and geography.
Press subsidy (until 2023)
State operational and distribution subsidy for daily press. Transferred into the new media support.
Media Authority
State agency from 2024 (previously the Broadcasting Authority). Responsible for media support, broadcasting licences and supervision.
Nordicom
Nordic Information Centre for Media Research at the University of Gothenburg. Publishes the Media Barometer and media-economic overviews.
Ownership concentration
Measure of the degree to which a few actors control a market. Common measures: CR3, CR4, HHI. Can be calculated on circulation, reach or revenue.
Group accounts
Consolidated annual report for a parent company and its subsidiaries. The place to find media groups' revenue mix (advertising/subscription/other).
Advertising revenue
Revenue from advertising. Share of the total has fallen for traditional press as Google/Meta took the majority of the digital ad market.
Subscription revenue
Revenue from subscribers/readers. Share has risen as digital paywalls and bundle subscriptions have been introduced.
TT News Agency
Swedish news agency jointly owned by Swedish media houses. Delivers wire copy, photo and video used by virtually every Swedish newsroom.
Editorial freedom
The principle that the responsible publisher decides independently on content, without owner or state influence. Constitutionally protected via TF and YGL.
Responsible publisher
The person who under the Freedom of the Press Act carries sole legal responsibility for publications. Must be registered for each periodic publication.
Informant freedom
Constitutionally protected right to provide information to a responsible publisher for publication, without risk of being disclosed.
Source protection
Responsible publisher and newsroom have a statutory duty of silence about who provided information. Regulated in TF and YGL.
Foreign ownership
Non-Swedish ownership of Swedish media — e.g. Schibsted (Norway), Warner Bros. Discovery (USA). Regulated in broadcasting licences only for public service.
Digital advertising market
Online advertising. Internationally dominated by Google and Meta, which together take the majority of revenue — the shape of much of the economic pressure on traditional press.

Primary sources

Agencies and research institutions behind this page

4

agencies/institutions

6

reports & studies

3

primary datasets

Frequently asked questions

Short answers to what is most often discussed

Bonnier News, Schibsted (via Schibsted Media/Aftonbladet, SvD) and Gota Media. Their combined share of circulation is high — around two-thirds in Nordicom's 2024–2025 figures — but the exact percentage varies with measurement method (circulation vs reach vs revenue).

Related topics

Logical next steps if you want to understand the background

Sources for this page

The data comes from official primary sources.

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  author       = {Sverigefakta.com},
  title        = {Sverigefakta},
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  note         = {Dataset v2026.2, accessed 2026-08-15}
}
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