WORLD PRESS TRENDS - World Association of Newspapers

SWEDEN
ADVERTISING EXPENDITURE & ECONOMIC DATA
Main economic indicators 1995-2001
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
1 US$= 10.33 SKr at 2001 rate
Gross Domestic Product (SKr billion)
at current prices 1,713 1,756 1,824 1,905 2,005 2,098 2,167
% change 7.3 2.5 3.8 4.5 5.2 4.7 3.3
at 2001 prices 1,796 1,832 1,892 1,979 2,074 2,150 2,167
% change 7.5 2.0 3.3 4.6 4.8 3.7 0.8
Gross Domestic Product per capita (SKr 000)
at current prices 194.0 198.7 206.1 215.3 226.3 236.6 245.4
at 2001 prices 203.3 207.2 213.8 223.6 234.1 242.4 245.4
Population
Millions 8.8 8.8 8.9 8.9 8.9 8.9 8.8
Consumer Price Index
2001=100 95.4 95.9 96.4 96.3 96.7 97.6 100.0
% change 2.3 0.5 0.5 -0.1 0.4 1.0 2.4
Ad.spend as a % of GDP
0.76 0.75 0.78 0.82 0.81 0.87 0.75
Advertising Expenditure Growth (%)
at current prices 6.9 0.7 8.4 9.4 3.7 12.7 -10.5
at 2001 prices 4.5 0.2 7.9 9.5 3.3 11.6 -12.7
Source: IFS, ZenithOptimedia
Advertising expenditure
(SKr millions, in current prices)
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Newspapers 8,324 8,109 8,344 8,928 8,753 9,338 8,323 7,743 7,690 7,827 8,220
Magazines 1,463 1,626 1,917 2,052 2,217 2,514 2,421 2,320 2,330 2,481 2,593
Television 2,429 2,482 2,850 3,183 3,434 3,953 3,507
Radio 234 319 416 517 546 590 513
Cinema 81 82 83 74 70 78 80
Outdoor 573 577 634 689 715 775 623
Internet - - 61 207 497 1,038 894
Total 13,104 13,195 14,305 15,650 16,232 18,286 16,361 15,665 15,874 16,434 17,179
Source: 1995-2001 IRM, 2002-2005 ZenithOptimedia
Notes: Includes classified, excludes agency commission and production costs, after discounts.
NB: Figures are incompatible with those used by the Swedish Newspaper Publishers Association
Research
Circulation is audited by: Tidningsstatistik AB
Readership is measured by: Research International, RUAB AB,
Nordicom
Methodology: Research International sends postal surveys to
48,000 people per annum in three sample periods. RUAB
conducts telephone interviews with 80,000 people over 240 days
of the year. Nordicom conducts telephone interviews using a
sample size of 3,370 people per annum over 28 randomly picked
days throughout the year.
Taxes
VAT on: sales 6% advertising 25%
newsprint 25% plant 25%
composition 25% (standard VAT rate 25%)
Advertising is subject to a tax rate of 4%. For free papers and
magazines the tax is 11%. Billposting is tax-free. Companies
pay a 28% tax on profits.
Subsidies
In 2002 direct subsidies paid to newspaper publishers totalled
SKr 486 million down from SKr 496 million the previous year.
85% were production grants. Such grants are allocated to
newspapers with a weak market position, and is mainly based
on newspaper circulation. Distribution support, which was 15%
of the direct subsidy, is allocated to any newspaper taking part
in a joint distribution program. Direct subsidies cover
approximately 3% of the total costs of the industry.
Discounts
on: post 0 rail 0 telephone 0 telegraph 0 telex 0
Ownership
Does any law exist governing publishing-house ownership, or the
registration of shares in newspaper-publishing companies No
Is there any law prohibiting or restricting foreign companies or
individuals from owning shares, and in particular, the majority of
shares, of domestic daily newspapers No
Is there any law prohibiting daily newspaper or periodical publishers
from operating radio or television stations in the same locality
Newspaper companies are no longer strictly forbidden from
running commercial radio stations. However, for reasons of
pluralism, new legislation in this field means that commercial
radio licences will, in practice, not normally be given to a daily
newspaper that has a dominant position in its distribution area.
In a Bill to Parliament, the Government has suggested that these
restrictions be abolished and replaced with new general criteria
for the process of selecting to whom licences to run commercial
radio should be granted. As these criteria are based on the
assumption that pluralism should be promoted by this selection
process, newspaper companies are still not likely to be able to
get such licences.
So as to guarantee disclosure and transparency in the capital structure
and to avert silent partnerships, is there a law or rule making it possible
WORLD ASSOCIATION OF NEWSPAPERS - WORLD PRESS TRENDS 2003 263