Statistical, Ecosystems and Competitiveness Analysis of the Media and Content Industries: The Newspaper Publishing Industry

Total 1000EUs 
Intra-EU 
27 
(%) 
Extra-EU 27 
(%) 
BE 
288,553 97 3 
170,786 99 1 
BG 
4,938 96 4 
1,791 70 30 
CZ 
96,797 
100 0 
112,627 81 19 
DK 
44,110 54 46 
63,219 71 29 
DE 
324,398 88 12 
852,628 74 26 
EE 
2,179 64 36 
14,956 34 66 
IE 
137,699 100 
0 
25,681 97 
3 
EL 
17,638 83 17 
10,599 96 4 
ES 
159,572 98 2 
139,480 67 33 
FR 
424,794 91 9 
403,967 73 27 
IT 
183,161 97 3 
185,712 75 25 
CY 
30,522 100 
0 
4,237 100 
0 
LV
10,859 69 31 
2,394 70 30 
LT 
1,722 52 48 
19,398 17 83 
LU 
29,539 100 
0 
10,906 100 
0 
HU 
32,550 97 3 
6,934 83 17 
MT 
6,870 97 
3 180 
0 100 
NL 
91,564 79 21 
125,562 87 13 
AT 
179,487 96 4 
48,551 90 10 
PL 
24,529 91 9 
165,497 70 30 
PT 
93,417 91 9 
3,702 43 57 
RO 
11,356 93 78 
519 70 30 
SI 
22,421 72 28 
18,913 16 84 
SK 
20,167 98 2 
49,128 64 36 
FI 
56,693 95 5 
123,656 42 58 
SE 
87,420 91 9 
26,069 34 66 
UK
250,666 73 27 
625,902 68 32 
Source: Eurostat. 
The Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) provides data about the import and export of 
Japanese newspapers and magazines in 2005. As can be seen in Table 16, the export is quite 
stable over the years. The import of newspapers and magazines however is less stable, but 
varies between 14.6 billion Yen (2004) and 19.1 billion Yen (2001). The figures provide no 
information on the countries to and from which newspapers and magazines are imported or 
exported. 

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The Newspaper Publishing Industry 
79
 
Table 16: Import and export of newspapers and magazines in Japan (in billion Yen), 2005 
 
Import 
Export 
 
 
 
2000 
16,5 4,4 
2001 
19,1 4,3 
2002 
15,9 4,3 
2003 
16,8 4,3 
2004 
14,6 4,5 
2005 
15,4 4,6 
Source: JETRO, 2006. 
In order to determine whether trade within the EU27 has increased or decreased in recent 
figures over longer periods of time are required. In order to determine the relative strength 
compared to the US and Asia the general trade balance figures would have to be specified for 
the trade to and from the US and Asia and compared to trade figures of the US and Asia. 
Also figures on which shares of circulation and revenues come from national newspapers and 
which from foreign newspapers are lacking, which makes it difficult to provide a quantitative 
assessment of the market position of European newspapers vis-à-vis foreign newspapers. 
Compared to other creative industries (like music, TV and film), the newspaper publishing 
industry is less affected by the process of globalization; the readers and buyers market has 
remained mainly national, regional or local. Cossborder trade in newspapers has always been 
relatively marginal (Wunsch-Vincent, 2010) (Kurad & Friedrichsen, 2006), also due to high 
cost of transportation, cultural and language barriers, the need for a close relationship with the 
customer, the need for short runs and frequent updates, and short delivery times (European 
Commission, 2005a). Despite convergence and the internationalisation of media and content 
industries, newspaper consumption remains geographically limited, even though satellite TV 
and the internet have made news consumption more international for a select audience of for 
instance international business people and academics.
Notwithstanding the geographical boundaries on newspaper publishing, many publishers have 
become part of major media conglomerates, which are active in different, often bordering, 
countries and in different media sectors, like television, radio or online. It would be 
interesting to asses in more detail how these multinational companies benefit from the 
European Single Market, for instance by being able to sell their products in different countries 
or outsource certain parts of the production process to other countries, and in which respects 
they experience obstacles, such as for instance copyright and tax issues discussed in 
paragraphs 0 and 0).
4.5 Conclusion 
Looking at turnover, employment and circulation trends the newspaper publishing sector in 
the EU27 is doing worse than in the major Asian markets, China and India, but it is still in a 
better condition than the newspaper publishing sector in the US. The main explanation for this 
is that newspapers in Europe generally rely less on advertising and more on sales and 
subscriptions than US newspapers. Also the ownership structures are different; US newspaper 
publisher are more often traded on the stock markets, while European newspaper publishers 
are (still) more family owned businesses and not traded on stock markets. In Asia newspapers 
are still growing, due to increasing literacy and wealth levels. Online European newspapers 
are doing better than both Asian and US newspapers, when looking at the amount of visitors. 

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