In 2017 Croatia's newspaper market continued the trend of decreasing circulation and advertising revenue, according to a survey conducted by the national competition agency (AZTN). The tabloid format daily 24sata had the largest circulation, while the Jutarnji List daily posted the largest income from advertising.
The AZTN conducted its regular survey on the state of the printed media in the country, which included 43 publishers and distributors, and which analysed circulations and advertising revenues of dailies and weeklies.
In 2017 a total of 66.1 million copies of daily newspapers were sold in Croatia, which was down by 10 percent compared to 2016, AZTN’s latest newsletter reported.
According to AZTN data, this continued the trend of declining newspaper sales – in 2014, 91.2 million copies were sold, in 2015 this dropped to 80.3 million, and in 2016 the sales further decreased to 73.7 million.
For the fifth year running, the daily with the largest circulation in 2017 was the tabloid 24sata, estimated to hold a 30-40 percent share of the market. It was followed by Jutarnji List daily with a 20-30 percent share, and by Vecernji List with a 10-20 percent share.
However, all three posted a drop in their respective sales.
Two more regional dailies also posted notable shares – the Split-based Slobodna Dalmacija, which focuses on southern Croatia, and the Rijeka-based Novi List, which covers national issues but also the northern Adriatic region, posted 5-10 market share respectively. However, they too recorded declining sales compared to 2016.
In terms of ownership, the largest market share of 50-60 percent was held by Styria AG, which publishes 24sata and Vecernji List, increasing its share slightly compared to 2016. It was followed by the Hanza Media publishing group, which owns Jutarnji List and Slobodna Dalmacija, with a 30-40 percent market share.
Third-ranked was the Glas Istre group of publishers, which owns regional dailies Nobi List, Glas Istre, and Zadarski List, which had a total market share of 10-20 percent.
As for general news weeklies, AZTN said that their sales in 2017 dropped by 15 percent compared to 2016.
In 2014 and 2015 the sales of weeklies hovered around 4.9 million copies per year, dropping to less than 4.3 million in 2016, and falling to 3.6 million in 2017.
Total advertising revenue in daily newspapers in 2017 amounted to 160 million kuna (€21.5 million), or 10 percent down from 2016. In terms of revenue, the largest market share of 20-30 percent was posted by Jutarnji List, followed by Slobodna Dalmacija (10-20 percent) and Vecernji List (10-20 percent).
Although the overall advertising market shrank, major publishers all recorded slight increases in their respective advertising revenues.
Total revenue in advertising in weeklies amounted to 24.9 million kuna (€3.3 million).
(€1 = 7.42 kuna)
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