El Periódico

What El Periódico does

El Periódico is a regional Spanish-language newspaper headquartered in Barcelona, founded in 1978, that operates both a daily print edition and a digital-first news platform covering Catalonia, Spain, and international current affairs. Its core product is the elperiodico.com web property, organized across sections including Politics, Economy, Society, Barcelona-local, Culture, Sports, and Opinion, with a freemium paywall supporting premium digital subscriptions. The company's product portfolio has expanded far beyond the core newsroom: it operates more than a dozen themed vertical sub-brands (Woman, Viajar, Cuore, Recetas, RecetasGratis, Neomotor, Ecología Verde, Experto Animal, Salud, Tendencias 21, Cata Mayor, Activos, Abril), six themed podcasts, three editorial newsletters, an e-commerce/deals platform (Esncial), lottery and classifieds services, and a digital kiosko edition accessible via kiosco.elperiodico.com. The technology stack is a conventional digital news publishing platform delivering web and mobile content with multimedia integration (video, podcasts, photo galleries), a recipe content management system, and third-party distribution via PressReader internationally. The platform is branded across major social networks (Facebook, X, Instagram, LinkedIn) and monetizes through three primary streams: recurring digital subscriptions, display and native "Ofrecido por" sponsored content with advertisers including Santander, Nespresso, Kia, Naturgy, and Banco Sabadell, and ancillary e-commerce transaction revenue. El Periódico serves general news readers in Catalonia and across Spain, with a horizontal segmentation approach addressing local Catalan municipal news (covering 21+ municipalities in the Barcelona metropolitan area and across Catalonia including Tarragona, Girona, Lleida, and others), lifestyle verticals, and broader Spanish and international affairs. The legal entity is El Periódico de Catalunya, S.L.U., a single-member Spanish limited liability company wholly owned by the Prensa Ibérica Media diversified media conglomerate; no funding rounds, equity investors, or IPO activity are disclosed.

Name

El Periódico

Legal name

El Periódico de Catalunya, S.L.U

Website

https://elperiodico.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1978

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

El Periódico is a Barcelona-based regional Spanish-language newspaper (founded 1978) serving Catalan and Spanish readers with digital-first and print news coverage, vertical sub-brands, podcasts, newsletters, and e-commerce services, operating as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Prensa Ibérica Media.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Barcelona

HQ country

Spain

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Digital Subscription: Premium digital subscription model offering exclusive content, ad-free reading experience, and full access to all publications and archives. The site features a subscription paywall for premium content.
2. Digital Advertising: Display advertising and sponsored content partnerships with brands including Santander, Nespresso, Kia, Naturgy, and Banco Sabadell. The platform features 'Ofrecido por' (Brought to you by) sponsored content sections.
3. E-commerce Services: Revenue generation through integrated e-commerce platforms for services including lottery ticket sales and checking services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

El Periódico is a Catalan/Spanish-language newspaper providing news coverage of Catalunya, Spain, and international current affairs across multiple sections (politics, economy, society, culture, sports, opinion). It operates as a digital-first news platform with a freemium subscription model, alongside a print edition and distributed via kiosks. The portfolio is supplemented by podcasts, newsletters, vertical content channels (Recetas, Woman, Neomotor, Ecología Verde, Experto Animal, Cuore, Viajar, Cata Mayor, Salud, Tendencias 21, Activos, Abril), and e-commerce integrations (lottery, shopping deals via Esncial).

Product overview

El Periódico is a leading Spanish-language digital newspaper operated by Grupo Prensa Ibérica Media, offering comprehensive news coverage of Catalunya, Spain, and international current affairs. The portfolio consists of a core digital newspaper product supplemented by specialized sub-brands and vertical channels covering lifestyle topics (Woman, Viajar), automotive (Neomotor), environment (Ecología Verde), pets (Experto Animal), entertainment (Cuore), gastronomy (Cata Mayor, Recetas), health (Salud), technology (Tendencias 21), and finance (Activos, Abril). Additional offerings include a podcast network with six thematic shows, three newsletter products, a shopping platform (Esncial), and a lottery service section.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• El Periódico (digital newspaper with subscription) Leading Spanish-language digital newspaper providing 24/7 news coverage of Catalunya, Spain, and international current affairs across politics, economy, society, culture, sports, and opinion; available via freemium and premium subscription tiers.
• El Periódico Print Edition Physical newspaper distributed through Spanish kiosks and newsstands, with digital PDF replica and archive access via kiosco.elperiodico.com for subscribers and kiosk buyers.
• El Periódico Podcast Network Collection of six thematic podcasts covering celebrity gossip, Barcelona culture, current events, books, parenting, and mystery content, distributed alongside the El Periódico brand to readers and audio subscribers.
• El Periódico Newsletter Portfolio Email newsletters offering daily news analysis, curated top stories, and gender-focused content for subscribers, led by named El Periódico editors.
• Recetas (Recipe platform) Recipe platform under the El Periódico sub-brand with over 20,000 step-by-step cooking recipes covering appetizers, rice dishes, meat, fish, desserts, and beverages, targeted at general home cooks.
• Esncial (Shopping and deals) Shopping and consumer deals platform integrated into the El Periódico site, surfacing e-commerce content, promotional offers, and curated deals to drive user engagement and ancillary commission revenue.
• Lotería de Navidad (Lottery service) Integrated lottery service on El Periódico covering the Spanish Lotería de Navidad, including ticket checking and related sales/promotional functionality, generating ancillary e-commerce revenue.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Prensa Ibérica MediacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEl Periódico is owned by El Periódico de Catalunya, S.L.U., which is part of the Prensa Ibérica Media group, one of the largest Spanish regional media companies. This parent company provides operational infrastructure, shared resources, and synergies across its portfolio of regional newspapers and digital publications throughout Spain.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• La Vanguardia: Barcelona-based Spanish-language newspaper covering Catalan, Spanish, and international news. Closest direct competitor to El Periódico in the Catalan regional news market, with similar digital subscription, advertising, and sub-brand strategies.
• 20minutos: Free Spanish digital-first general news outlet covering Spain and international affairs. Direct peer to El Periódico’s free, ad-supported news tier; competes for the same online reader attention and programmatic ad inventory in Spain.
• Ara (newspaper): Catalan-language digital and print newspaper based in Barcelona. Competes head-to-head with El Periódico for Catalan-speaking readers, regional advertisers, and subscribers in the local market.
• La Razón: Spanish national daily with digital subscription and advertising businesses. Overlaps with El Periódico on general news, opinion, and culture verticals, and competes for Spanish digital ad and subscription dollars.
• El Correo: Basque regional newspaper and fellow Prensa Ibérica Media title. Directly comparable in regional focus, multi-vertical sub-brand portfolio, and freemium digital subscription model, making it a strong internal benchmark.
• La Voz de Galicia: Leading regional Spanish newspaper with strong digital presence, owned by Prensa Ibérica Media. Sister publication within the same parent group; highly comparable in business model, vertical sub-brand structure, and regional-news positioning.

Broad incumbents

• El País: Spain's flagship national digital newspaper with broad general-news, politics, business, culture, and sports coverage. Competes with El Periódico for Spanish-language digital subscribers, advertising, and national/international news readership, though its scale and reach are significantly larger.
• El Mundo: Major Spanish national daily with comprehensive digital coverage and a similar multi-vertical structure (sports, economy, culture). Competes with El Periódico for national ad budgets and overlapping Spanish-speaking digital subscribers.
• ABC (newspaper): Spanish national daily newspaper with a long print heritage transitioning to digital subscriptions. Comparable in business model (subscriptions + advertising + sub-brands) and target market (Spanish-speaking general news readers).

Regional players

• Regió7: Catalan local/regional newspaper covering the Bages-Moianès area. Smaller than El Periódico but directly comparable in regional Catalan focus and local-news content model, occasionally partnering or competing for hyperlocal coverage.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/elperiodico
• Facebookfacebook.com/elperiodico.catalunya
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/el-peri%C3%B3dico
• Instagraminstagram.com/elperiodico_cas

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about El Periódico