Aftonbladet

Digital Newspaper Publishingaftonbladet.se

Aftonbladet is Sweden's largest daily newspaper, reaching ~3.5 million daily readers via web, mobile, e-tidning, and video, and monetizes through Plus subscriptions (~250,000 paying subscribers as of 2024) and digital advertising, with 91% ownership by Schibsted and 9% by LO.

Company typePrivate
Founded1830
HeadquartersStockholm, Sweden
Headcount501–1,000
GTM typeB2C
OfferingDigital Commerce or Content

What Aftonbladet does

Aftonbladet is Sweden's largest daily newspaper, founded in 1830 by Lars Johan Hierta, and operates as a comprehensive digital and print media platform serving Swedish-speaking consumers. The company publishes news, sports (via the Sportbladet sub-brand), entertainment (via Nöjesbladet), and breaking news (via Aftonbladet Direkt), producing approximately 500 articles per day alongside continuous video, podcast, and TV programming distributed through its website (aftonbladet.se), mobile applications, and an e-tidning digital newspaper. The company reaches an audience of roughly 3.5 million daily readers and viewers across these channels, with the largest single engagement surface being the web and mobile news platforms.

The core platform combines a free, ad-supported news and video destination with a recurring subscription layer called Plus. Plus provides paying subscribers with premium articles, an ad-free reading experience, digital magazines, podcast access, the 1830-to-present Historiska Arkivet, and interactive elements including daily puzzles (Minispel, Ordsvansen) and quizzes; approximately 250,000 Swedes were Plus subscribers as of 2024. The product portfolio has expanded beyond text into Aftonbladet TV (on-demand video and live sports), a podcast network, and browser-based casual games, all distributed through self-serve digital channels.

Monetization is dual-stream: (i) recurring subscription revenue from Plus, sold direct-to-consumer on a monthly billing cadence at undisclosed but market-rate Swedish pricing; and (ii) digital advertising across the website and mobile platforms, including display and sponsored-content formats. Aftonbladet is privately held under Norwegian media conglomerate Schibsted (91%) with Swedish trade union confederation LO (Landsorganisationen) holding the remaining 9%, and is operationally headquartered in Stockholm.

Aftonbladet firmographics

Firmographics

Name: Aftonbladet
Legal name: Aftonbladet
Website: https://aftonbladet.se
Company type: Private
Founded year: 1830
Operating status: Operating
Headcount range: 501–1,000 employees
Short description: Aftonbladet is Sweden's largest daily newspaper, reaching ~3.5 million daily readers via web, mobile, e-tidning, and video, and monetizes through Plus subscriptions (~250,000 paying subscribers as of 2024) and digital advertising, with 91% ownership by Schibsted and 9% by LO.
Ownership category
akta.pro rank

Aftonbladet industry classification

Industry

Product category: Digital Newspaper Publishing
NAICS: Newspaper Publishers (513110), Periodical Publishers (513120), Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131), Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (51621)
SIC: Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711), Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)
akta.pro primary industry: Digital Magazine & Newspaper Subscription Platforms (Paywalls, Membership) (MPAJAMAD)
akta.pro secondary industries: News & Content Aggregation Portals (BPAMAAAI), Digital Newsstand & Aggregation Platforms (Magazine/News Apps, Bundles) (MPAJAKAE), Digital Content & Media Subscriptions (CRAFAIAA), News, Politics & Current Affairs Magazines (MPAJAEAO), Long-Form Writing & Article Platforms (MPACAIAC)

Keywords

Digital news media
Online journalism
News subscription
Sports journalism
Breaking news coverage

Where Aftonbladet is headquartered

Location

Headquarters

HQ city: Stockholm
HQ country: Sweden
HQ region: Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

Aftonbladet business model

Business model

GTM type: B2C
Offering type: Digital Commerce or Content
Cost components: Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

Subscription Revenue (Plus): Aftonbladet Plus is a subscription service offering premium content, digital magazines, historical archive access, and exclusive articles. Approximately 250,000 Swedes are subscribers.
Advertising: Digital advertising on the website and mobile platforms, including display ads and sponsored content such as CasinoGuiden integration.

Pricing tiers

Model	Billing	Price
Subscription	Monthly	Plus subscription with premium content access

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Aftonbladet product offering

Product offering

Core offering

Aftonbladet is Sweden's largest daily newspaper and digital media platform, publishing breaking news, sports coverage, entertainment, and lifestyle content across its website, mobile applications, video streaming service, podcasts, and digital newspaper. The Plus subscription service provides premium content, an ad-free experience, the e-tidning digital newspaper, and full access to the historical archive dating back to 1830, reaching approximately 3.5 million readers and viewers daily.

Product overview

Aftonbladet operates as a comprehensive digital media platform providing news, sports, entertainment, and lifestyle content across multiple channels. The core offering consists of the Aftonbladet news platform with its dedicated Sportbladet sports sub-brand. Premium features are delivered through the Plus subscription service, which unlocks exclusive content, the digital e-newspaper, historical archive access, ad-free experience, and interactive elements including podcasts, mini-games, and quizzes. The platform is complemented by a TV streaming service and is owned by Schibsted (91%) and LO (9%).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

Sportbladet: Sports section and brand covering football, hockey, motorsport and other sports
Plus
Nöjesbladet
Aftonbladet Direkt

Products and services

Aftonbladet news platform Sweden's largest online news platform providing breaking news, sports coverage, entertainment, and lifestyle content across web, mobile, and print, reaching approximately 3.5 million readers and viewers daily.
Sportbladet Dedicated sports section and brand covering football, hockey, motorsport, and other sports with live results, news, blogs, and fantasy games.
Aftonbladet Plus Premium subscription service offering exclusive articles, e-newspaper access, historical archive access, podcasts, quizzes, mini-games, and an ad-free reading experience.
Aftonbladet TV Video streaming platform featuring news clips, live sports coverage, entertainment shows, and original programming.
Aftonbladet Podcasts Collection of audio podcasts covering news, sports, entertainment, and true crime content, available via the Aftonbladet platform.
Dagens E-tidning (Digital Newspaper) Digital replica of Aftonbladet's daily newspaper edition accessible to Plus subscribers via etidning.aftonbladet.se.
Historiska Arkivet (Historical Archive) Digital historical archive providing access to Aftonbladet's published content from 1830 onwards, included with the Plus subscription.
Nöjesbladet Entertainment sub-brand of Aftonbladet covering film, music, TV, and celebrity news.

Companies that use Aftonbladet

Customer profile

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Aftonbladet technology and API

Technology

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API: No
API docs
API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Aftonbladet partnerships and signals

Strategic signal

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

TV4 PlayminorOthersPart of the broader Schibsted media ecosystem including TV4 Play for cross-promotion and content partnerships.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Aftonbladet competitors and assessment

Company assessment

Broad incumbents

BBC News: Publicly funded but still one of the world's largest digital news brands, comparable in scale (tens of millions of users), breadth (news, sport, video, podcasts), and multi-platform distribution model (web, app, video).
Bonnier News: Swedish media group owning Expressen, DN, Sydsvenskan, and Dagens industri. Direct competitor via its newspaper portfolio and Sweden's largest news subscription player (over 1M digital subs across titles).
Schibsted (parent portfolio): Norwegian media conglomerate that owns 91% of Aftonbladet and operates VG, Aftenposten, Bergens Tidende, TV4, and Nordic marketplaces. Operates overlapping Nordic news and digital subscription capabilities at much larger scale.
TV4 Group: Swedish commercial broadcaster and streaming service (TV4 Play) owned by Schibsted. Competes with Aftonbladet TV in video/streaming but complements via cross-promotion partnerships within the same Schibsted ecosystem.

Direct peers

Verdens Gang (VG): Norway's largest online newspaper, owned by Schibsted and structurally analogous to Aftonbladet (news + Sportbladet-equivalent + VG+ subscription). Closest international functional peer for benchmarking paywall, video, and engagement strategy.
Expressen: Sweden's other major tabloid daily, owned by Bonnier. Direct competitor in Swedish news, sports, and entertainment, with a comparable subscription (Expressen Premium) and Plus equivalent product targeting the same consumer base.
Göteborgs-Posten (GP): Sweden's largest regional newspaper (Gothenburg region), also part of the Stampen/local media landscape. Competes for Swedish news readership and digital subscription share with comparable news+sport coverage and paywall structure.
Dagens Nyheter (DN): Sweden's leading daily newspaper (broadsheet), owned by Bonnier. Competes head-on with Aftonbladet in national news coverage and operates a comparable digital subscription model (DN+) for premium journalism.
Svenska Dagbladet (SvD): Stockholm-based daily owned by Schibsted, so a sister title under shared ownership. Competes directly with Aftonbladet in Swedish national news and operates a parallel digital subscription (SvD Premium).

Emerging players

BuzzFeed News / digital-native publishers: Although US-based and no longer publishing original news, BuzzFeed's history exemplifies the digital-native subscription/news model that traditional publishers like Aftonbladet are competing against (alongside newer entrants like Semafor, The Athletic, and De Correspondent). Useful as a peer for benchmarking digital subscription economics.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Aftonbladet financial estimates

Financial estimate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Aftonbladet leadership team

Management profile

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Aftonbladet subsidiaries and ownership

Company hierarchy

Subsidiaries2 records

Aftonbladet funding detail

Funding detail

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Aftonbladet M&A and investment

M&A and investment

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Aftonbladet

What does Aftonbladet do?

Is Aftonbladet a public or private company?

Aftonbladet is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.

When was Aftonbladet founded?

Aftonbladet was founded in 1830. It employs 501 to 1,000 people.

Where is Aftonbladet based?

Aftonbladet is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, in the Europe region.

How does Aftonbladet make money?

Two revenue lines are on record. Subscription Revenue (Plus) is the primary driver. The others are advertising.

Who are Aftonbladet's main competitors?

Broad incumbents on record are BBC News, Bonnier News, Schibsted (parent portfolio) and TV4 Group. Direct peers are Verdens Gang (VG), Expressen, Göteborgs-Posten (GP), Dagens Nyheter (DN) and Svenska Dagbladet (SvD). BuzzFeed News / digital-native publishers is listed as an emerging player.

Does Aftonbladet have an API?

No public API is recorded for Aftonbladet.

What industry is Aftonbladet in?

Aftonbladet's product category is Digital Newspaper Publishing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJAMAD, Digital Magazine & Newspaper Subscription Platforms (Paywalls, Membership), with a secondary code of BPAMAAAI, News & Content Aggregation Portals. Its NAICS code is 513110 and its SIC code is 2721.