Sweden is considered a pioneer in the field of state-guaranteed press and information freedom. It was the first country ever to introduce a press law in 1766, which guaranteed freedom of expression, reporting, and censorship, as well as the freedom of expression that is still so characteristic of Sweden today. Publicity principles (Principles of Openness of Information). To this day, these principles stipulate that every Swedish citizen has the right to inspect and copy files held by state and local authorities – regardless of whether the information concerns them personally or not. However, since the country joined the EU in 1995 and in light of the digital media revolution, this comprehensive provision of transparency and openness of information laws has been increasingly criticized and is the subject of calls for reform by data protection advocates and the EU. Recent examples of this include the disputes surrounding the analysis of freely accessible tax and criminal record data of citizens in Sweden by commercial online services, and the EU's demand to harmonize Swedish openness of information laws with the confidentiality laws of other member states.

Comparative surveys regularly certify Sweden as having top scores in the categories of media and internet usage, literacy rates, and information and communication infrastructure. Other distinctive features of the Swedish media system include high per capita newspaper usage figures compared to other countries, the dominance of public broadcasting in the TV market, internationally successful media companies, and the government's pronounced control over general broadcasting and media regulation.

The total revenue of the Swedish media industry in 2023 will be USD 5.85 billion, of which more than half (USD 3.02 billion) will be attributable to the TV sector (TV and video). In contrast, USD 1.71 billion will be attributable to the publishing sector (newspapers, magazines, books), making it the second largest sector in Sweden (Statista 2023).

General Information

Inhabitants: 10,452,326 million (December 2021)
Households: 4.274 million (2014)
Average household size: 1.9 people (2021)
Religions: Protestants 411, Muslims 51, Orthodox 11, Catholics 21, Others 13
Big cities: Stockholm: 975,551 (2020); Gothenburg 579,281 (2020); Malmo 344,166 (2020)
Form of government: Parliamentary monarchy
Head of State: King Carl XVI Gustaf (since 1973)
Prime Minister: Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (since 2022)
Unemployment rate: 8,8% (2021); 16,3% (2013)
National debt in relation to gross domestic product: 39,63% (2020)
GDP: USD 537.6 billion (2020)

Media revenue: USD 5.85 billion (2023)
Television viewing time per inhabitant: 164 minutes per day
Large media and communication companies: Spotify AB, Telia Company, Tele 2 Sverige AB, Bonnier AB, Modern Times Group, SVT
Broadcasting fees: none (since 2020), financed by public service tax (1/3 of individual income, maximum 125 euros)

Press

The usage and reach of press products in Sweden are traditionally high, although in recent years the digital (internet) offerings of publishers have seen a significant increase in popularity, while traditional print media have lost influence. Overall, however, the general newspaper crisis of recent years has not spared Sweden either, although it has been felt on a less dramatic scale than in other European countries. Nevertheless, cost-cutting measures and large-scale conversion to Paywalls and paid digital editions of daily newspapers became commonplace in the 2010s – they certainly point to the increased pressure on publishers' balance sheets. In southern Sweden, approximately 40% of the print journalist workforce was cut between 2010 and 2013 (around 250 positions), while between 2004 and 2014, a 25 percent decline in daily newspaper editors was recorded. During the same period, one-third of all local editorial staff were closed.

The sector has since recovered significantly. According to the Nordicom Institute, the daily reach of newspapers among 9-85 year-olds in 2022 was 73 percent – a record high in Europe. By comparison, it was 67 percent in 2013, 77 percent in 2009, and 80 percent in 1995. The increased proportion of daily newspaper readers in recent years is a result of the broad range of digital media available in Sweden. Nevertheless, declining revenues reflect the sector's continued difficult situation. Between 2017 and 2023 alone, annual revenues from newspapers and magazines fell from 1.75 billion to 1.14 billion US dollars.

The newspaper publishers with the highest turnover are the corporate groups Bonnier AS and Schibsted AB (see Fig. I). Together, they generate almost half of the total industry revenue (Bonnier: 30.7%, Schibsted: 18.1%; 2021). The Norwegian media group Schibsted AS publishes the most popular tabloid newspaper, Aftonbladet, whose online edition is also one of the most visited websites in the country (see Table I). The Bonnier Group includes the Swedish daily newspapers Dagens Nyheter, Expressen, GT, Kvällsposten, Sydsvenskan, Helsingborgs Dagblad, and Dagens Industri, as well as the magazines of Bonnier Magazines & Brands, the printing company Bold Printing Stockholm, and Bonnier News Local (total revenue 2021: SEK 1.55 billion), which distributes several local daily newspapers in Sweden.

Norrköpings Tidningars Media is the third-largest newspaper publisher in Sweden and the second-largest in Sweden, with total revenues of SEK 1.87 billion in 2021. The tabloid newspaper Norrköpings Tidningar (NT for short) has a long history of publication – it was founded in 1758 and has been one of the country's opinion leaders for decades. Like many other newspapers, NT has struggled with declining print circulation figures over the past 20 years. In 2002, Norrköpings Tidningar's circulation was 49,400 copies per week. Ten years later, in 2012, the circulation was only 39,500 copies per week. In 2019, the weekly circulation was 31,800 copies. At the same time, high numbers of hits can be generated online at times – for example, in the last week of April 2017, around 217,000 readers were counted.

Fig. I: The largest newspaper publishers in Sweden in 2021 by total revenue in billion SEK

Source: Statista.com

Broadcasting

In an EU-wide comparison, Swedes watched among the least linear television in 2022. However, combined television consumption for linear television and streaming, at 89 percent, was significantly above the EU average of 80 percent. However, the figures for (almost) daily radio use, at 51 percent, were above the EU average of 47 percent (2021, Eurobarometer). Sweden also had high rates of IPTV usage. The number of households with IPTV subscriptions in 2021 was around 1.6 million.

Sweden is one of the pioneers in the introduction of digital broadcasting. Following a resolution passed by the Swedish Parliament in 1997, digital terrestrial broadcasting systems were introduced in 1999, and the nationwide broadcasting of television programs using analogue broadcasting systems was discontinued as early as 2007.
The two most important players in the Swedish broadcasting market, in addition to the Telia Company (TV4 and its regional subsidiaries), are the public television company Swedish Television AB (SVT; svt1, svt2) and the Modern Times Group (MTG; TV3, TV6, TV8).

Fig. II: Market shares of the largest television stations in Sweden in the total audience (from 3 years) 2022

Source: Statista.com

public television
Sweden's first public television station, SVT1, began broadcasting on September 4, 1956. SVT2 began broadcasting in 1969. SVT currently operates seven TV channels, including six national channels – SVT1, SVT2, SVT24; the children's channel SVT B, UR; the documentary channel Kunskapskanalen; and the international channel SVTWorld.

SVT is organized as a public limited company and majority-owned by a state-controlled foundation. Until 2020, the public broadcasting program was financed through a broadcasting fee of approximately €18.70 per month (as of 2015). Starting in 2020, public broadcasting will be financed through the newly introduced public service tax. This amounts to 1/3 percent of individual income, up to a maximum of €125 (as of 2020).
The content broadcast on SVT can also be viewed online on svt.se after broadcast, but it is depublished there after 30 days.

Private television

The Modern Times Group (MTG) was founded in 1994 through the merger and spin-off of various media companies from the Swedish investment company Kinnevik. Kinnevik – founded in 1936 by the Stenbek, Klingspor, and Horn families and originally active in the timber and steel industries – still holds significant stakes in MTG, as well as in other companies in the media and technology services sector, including Zalando and Rocket Internet. The Modern Times Group is an international entertainment company active in over 130 countries. Its portfolio includes 60 TV channels, several film and television production companies, radio stations, free newspapers, and e-commerce companies. MTG also holds stakes in the pan-European telecommunications operator Tele2 and the digital services company Millicom.

A key figure in MGT's corporate history was media magnate Jan Stenbeck (1942-2002), who, as the majority shareholder and CEO of Kinnevik from 1976 until his death in 2002, vigorously promoted the expansion of the company's media and communications divisions. Stenbeck – often compared to Rupert Murdoch and Silvio Berlusconi due to his aggressive expansion policy and competitive corporate philosophy, as well as his personal leadership style – was a key figure in the introduction of private broadcasting in Sweden.

TV4 (TV fyra) is a Swedish free-to-air television channel owned by TV4 AB, a subsidiary of TV4 Media AB. It began broadcasting via satellite in 1990 and terrestrial television in 1992. In 1994, TV4 became the largest broadcaster and remained so for several years. Both Sveriges Television (SVT) channels experienced a steady decline in viewership for several years. After programming changes in 2001, SVT1 had virtually the same viewership as TV4. From 2004 to 2019, the TV4 group was a fully active member of the European Broadcasting Union. Since 2020, TV4 has once again been the country's largest TV broadcaster.

TV4, which originally belonged to the Bonnier Group (as part of Bonnier Broadcasting), was acquired by Telia Company in December 2019 for SEK 9.2 billion, becoming the new owner of the holding company, now marketed as TV4 Media AB. The planned acquisition was announced in July 2018.

Internet

Compared internationally, Sweden regularly achieves high scores in all internet-related surveys. In 2022, the number of daily internet users was almost 90 percent – and around 98 percent of the population have even used it at some point, according to Eurostat statistics from 2022. Unsurprisingly, network coverage in Sweden is over 97 percent. Sweden is also one of the world's leading countries in the area of digital infrastructure. According to OECD data, 82.6% of Swedish households were already equipped with a broadband connection in 2010. Only Iceland (87.1%) and South Korea (97.5%) had higher values at that time. In 2022, the proportion of households with broadband access is more than 91 percent.

Sweden's outstanding position in the field of communications infrastructure is also evident in a global comparison of average internet access speeds. As of June 2023, Sweden had an average broadband download speed of around 109 Mbps (ranking 31st worldwide). Mobile internet download speeds averaged around 97 Mbps (ranking 11th worldwide).

Among the most visited websites in Sweden, Google.com, a search engine, and YouTube.com, a video portal, both owned by Alphabet Inc., are among the top 10. In third place is Facebook.com, a social network owned by Meta Platforms, Inc. Other popular websites include the news portal Aftonbladet.se, owned by the Norwegian publisher Schibsted, and Expressen.se, a news portal owned by the Swedish Bonnier Group.

Instagram.com, a social network from Meta Platforms, Inc., and Openai.com, a chatbot from OpenAI LP, are also represented in the top 10. Twitter.com, another social network operated by Twitter Inc., ranks tenth. Other popular websites include Svt.se, the website of the public broadcaster SVT, and Blocket.se, an e-commerce portal from Schibsted. Live.com, an email and web portal from Microsoft Corporation, and Dn.se, a news portal from Bonnier, are also represented in the top 15. Rounding out the list is Reddit.com, a social network run by Norwegian Kristin Skogen Lund (CEO of Reddit Inc.).

Table I: The most visited websites in Sweden, June 2023

Rank	Webpage:	Description	Parent company
1.	Google.com	Search engine	Alphabet Inc.
2.	YouTube.com	Video portal	Alphabet Inc.
3.	Facebook.com	Social network	Meta Platforms, Inc.
4.	Aftonbladet.se	News	Schibsted
5.	Expressen.se	News	Bonnier
6.	Wikipedia.org	Encyclopedia	Wikimedia Foundation
7.	Google.com	Search engine	Alphabet Inc.
8.	Instagram.com	Social network	Meta Platforms, Inc.
9.	Openai.com	ChatGPT (chatbot)	OpenAI LP
10.	Twitter.com	Social network	Twitter Inc.
11.	Svt.se	Broadcasting	SVT
12.	Blocket.se	e-commerce	Schibsted
13.	Live.com	email, web portal	Microsoft Corporation
14.	Dn.se	News	Bonnier
15.	Reddit.com	Social network	Reddit Inc.

 Source: Similarweb.com

Regulations

The central institution for media policy and regulation in Sweden is the Ministry of Culture (Department of Culture). It oversees several authorities and official bodies that deal with key media-relevant policy areas.

Probably the most important of these is the Swedish Broadcasting Authority (Myndigheten för radio och tv). Since the new Radio and Television Act of August 1, 2010, this authority has replaced the former Broadcasting Commission and the Swedish Radio and Television Authority, consolidating their powers. The new authority exercises broadcasting supervision and makes decisions on broadcasting licenses, fees, and permits for terrestrial television, among other things.

A peculiarity of the Swedish broadcasting landscape is the high number of TV channels owned by foreign media companies or broadcast from abroad. These channels are not directly subject to Swedish radio and television legislation. This applies to several main channels: TV3, TV6, TV8, and TV10 (TMG) are transmitted by Viasat Broadcasting UK, as is Channel 5, which is also transmitted from the United Kingdom. Bilateral agreements exist for these cases, according to which the Swedish Broadcasting Authority must forward program and advertising complaints to the relevant local authorities, such as Ofcom (Office of Communication) or ASA (Advertising Standards Authority).

Sweden has had a press subsidy system since 1971. The responsible government agency is the Press Promotion Board (PresstödsnämndenIt decides on the approval and distribution of state subsidies for the daily press in accordance with the statutes of the Annual Press Subsidies Act, monitors and analyses developments in the newspaper market and publishes data on newspaper circulation trends in Sweden.

In 2010, the Press Subsidies Act was modified under pressure from the EU Commission, including a reduction in the maximum subsidy amounts. Currently, approximately 88 daily newspapers receive subsidies, corresponding to a total subsidy volume of SEK 463.6 million. In addition, 136 newspapers receive distribution aid totaling SEK 55.4 million.

Sources/Literature

• Cavallin, J. (1993): Media Concentration and Media Ownership in the Nordic Countries. Denmark: Nordic Council of Ministers.
• MediaLandscapes (2023): Media landscape in Sweden.
• Nergelius, J. (2015): Media Law in Sweden. Netherlands: Kluwer Law International.
• Similarweb (2023): The most visited websites in Sweden in June 2023.
• Stadius, P. (2016): Communicating the North: Media Structures and Images in the Making of the Nordic Region. United Kingdom: Taylor & Francis.
• Stoll, Julia (2023): Weekly audience market share of TV channels in Sweden April 2022, Statista.
• Syvertsen, T., Enli, G. S., Mjøs, O. J., Moe, H. (2014): The Media Welfare State: Nordic Media in the Digital Era. USA: University of Michigan Press.
• Watson, Amy (2022): Leading newspaper publishing companies in Sweden in 2021, by revenue, Statista.