The Kitsap Sun

What The Kitsap Sun does

The Kitsap Sun is a local daily newspaper serving Kitsap County, Washington, including the communities of Bremerton, Port Orchard, Poulsbo, Bainbridge Island, and Silverdale. Founded in 1935 and headquartered in Bremerton, it has been owned by Gannett (NYSE: GCI) and operated as part of the USA Today Network for the duration of its post-acquisition history. The publication delivers local news, sports, opinion, government coverage, obituaries, and classified listings across print home delivery, a website (kitsapsun.com), a digital eNewspaper replica, iOS and Android mobile applications, and email newsletters, with specialized vertical sections for real estate listings (via AddressUSA) and obituaries (via Legacy.com).

The core technology stack is a web-based publishing platform with mobile applications and digital editions; no proprietary AI, machine-learning, or advanced data products are documented. Revenue is generated through a mix of print and digital subscription fees, display and classified advertising, legal public-notice publications, content licensing and reprints, and transactional fees from obituary and classified placements. Marketing reach is amplified through the USA Today Network advertising infrastructure and Gannett's LocaliQ digital marketing solutions arm, which sells marketing services to local businesses.

Customer segments are split between general local residents consuming news content on a subscription or advertising-supported basis, sports enthusiasts, and local businesses and government entities purchasing advertising, public notices, and classified placements. There are no disclosed pricing tiers, named enterprise customers, or revenue figures; financial performance is reported solely at the Gannett parent level. The Kitsap Sun's strategic positioning is that of a community newspaper leaning on its incumbent local brand, statutory public-notice franchise, and parent-company network effects rather than on differentiated technology or AI capabilities.

Name

The Kitsap Sun

Legal name

The Kitsap Sun

Website

https://kitsapsun.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1935

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

The Kitsap Sun is a local daily newspaper, founded in 1935, serving Kitsap County, Washington through print, website, eNewspaper, and mobile apps. Owned by Gannett as part of the USA Today Network, it generates revenue from subscriptions, advertising, public notices, classifieds, and content licensing.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Newspaper

NAICS

Commercial Printing (except Screen and Books) (323111)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Local & Regional Newspapers (Print & Digital) (MPAJADAB)

Keywords

• Local newspaper
• Community news
• Digital subscriptions
• News publishing
• Classified advertising

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Subscription Revenue: Print and digital newspaper subscriptions providing recurring revenue from individual readers
2. Advertising: Display advertising and marketing solutions for local businesses and national advertisers through USA Today Network
3. Public Notices: Legal public notice publications required for government and court proceedings
4. Classifieds and Marketplace: Job listings, real estate listings, obituaries, and general classified advertising
5. Licensing and Reprints: Content licensing and reprint rights for photographs and articles

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Kitsap Sun is a local newspaper publication serving Kitsap County, Washington, providing local news, sports, opinion, obituaries, and real estate content. It distributes content through print home delivery, a digital news website, an eNewspaper digital replica, mobile applications for iOS and Android, and email newsletters. The publication also operates classifieds, public notices, and local business advertising services as part of Gannett's USA Today Network.

Product overview

The Kitsap Sun is a local news publication offering a unified digital platform for Kitsap County, Washington. The core offering is the Kitsap Sun News Website, supplemented by the eNewspaper for print subscribers, dedicated mobile applications for iOS and Android, email newsletter services, and specialized vertical sections including real estate listings and obituaries. These products collectively provide comprehensive local news coverage, community information, and digital services to readers across the Kitsap Peninsula.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Kitsap Sun News Website

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Gannett/USA Today NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Kitsap Sun is owned and operated by Gannett, part of the USA Today Network. This partnership provides national news resources, shared technology platforms, advertising networks, and operational support while maintaining local editorial focus.
• AddressUSAminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorReal estate marketplace partner providing property listings and real estate advertising services integrated into the Real Estate section of the website.
• LocaliQ Digital Marketing SolutionsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerGannett's digital marketing solutions platform providing local business advertising and marketing services referenced in the website footer.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Arizona Republic: Major Arizona daily owned by Gannett/USA Today Network, sharing the exact technology, advertising, and content-licensing infrastructure. Directly comparable Gannett-network property across all revenue streams.
• The Spokesman-Review: Spokane, Washington's regional daily (Cowles Company) covering Eastern Washington and North Idaho. Comparable as a family/private-owned Pacific Northwest daily newspaper with print, digital, and public-notice offerings facing the same secular industry dynamics.
• The Oregonian: Portland, Oregon daily (Advance Publications) covering a neighboring Pacific Northwest market with overlapping regional content, classifieds, and national-advertising scale. Comparable as a regional print+digital daily in the same broader geography.
• Peninsula Daily News: Port Angeles, Washington daily covering the Olympic Peninsula adjacent to Kitsap County. Privately owned but operates the same local-news-plus-public-notices-plus-classifieds model serving a similar Pacific Northwest small-metro market.
• The Tennessean: Nashville regional daily owned by Gannett/USA Today Network with the same operating model, product stack, and revenue mix as Kitsap Sun. Highly relevant as a Gannett-network comp for evaluating unit economics, ad yield, and digital subscriber performance.
• The Olympian: Olympia, Washington daily newspaper also owned by Gannett/USA Today Network, covering the adjacent state capital region with the same multi-platform model (print, digital, eNewspaper, public notices). The most directly comparable peer given shared geography, shared parent, and shared operating model.
• The News Tribune: Tacoma, Washington's daily newspaper (McClatchy) serving the South Puget Sound region. Directly comparable as a Washington State daily with local news, sports, public notices, and digital subscriptions, competing for regional advertising budgets that overlap with Kitsap County.
• The Bellingham Herald: Bellingham, Washington daily newspaper owned by Gannett/USA Today Network, serving the north Puget Sound region with the identical product, technology stack, and revenue model as Kitsap Sun — making it one of the closest like-for-like comparables.
• The Desert Sun: Palm Springs, California daily owned by Gannett/USA Today Network. Operates the same multi-platform, subscription + advertising + public notices + classifieds model as Kitsap Sun in another small-to-mid regional US market.

Broad incumbents

• The Seattle Times: The dominant Pacific Northwest regional newspaper based in Seattle. Operates a similar print + digital subscription + advertising model and overlaps geographically with Kitsap Sun's readership, making it a broader incumbent competitor for regional advertising and digital subscriber spend.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/kitsapnews
• Xx.com/kitsapsun

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 The Kitsap Sun