What Bergens Tidende does

Bergens Tidende (BT) is the principal regional newspaper for Bergen and Vestland county in Western Norway, founded in 1868 and headquartered at Lars Hilles gate 30 / Odd Frantzens plass 5 in Bergen. The company operates a multi-channel news publishing business anchored by its digital platform bt.no, a print edition distributed across Bergen and Vestland, a digital newspaper edition (E-avis) with a searchable historical archive (E-arkiv), and a portfolio of sub-brands and podcasts including Ballspark (sports), BT Magasinet (long-form features), and weather/real estate verticals. The underlying technology is a standard web publishing platform with a metered subscription paywall, RSS feed syndication, and multimedia content delivery; no proprietary AI/ML systems, public APIs, or developer SDKs are disclosed.

Revenue is generated through two primary streams: recurring digital and print subscriptions sold to individual consumers (digital-only, print + digital bundles, e-avis, and corporate/enterprise plans), and advertising placements on bt.no sold to business clients via Schibsted For Business. Subscription billing runs on monthly and annual cadences; corporate plans (Bedriftsabonnement) are sold through the Schibsted Bedrift platform, indicating dependence on the parent Schibsted media group for B2B distribution and shared infrastructure. The customer base is horizontal — general consumers in Western Norway seeking local, national, and international news, sports (particularly Brann football), weather, opinion, and culture coverage — alongside enterprise readers and advertisers.

Management is led by Sjefredaktør og admin direktør Trond Olav Skrunes, supported by an editorial leadership team including Nyhetsredaktør Liv Solli Okkenhaug, Politisk redaktør Eirin Eikefjord, Utviklingsredaktør Jan Stian Vold, and Redaksjonssjef Liv Skotheim. The company employs between 251 and 500 people, holds a Miljøfyrtårn environmental certification, and adheres to the Norwegian Code of Ethics for the Press (Vær Varsom-plakaten). Ownership sits within Schibsted, a major Norwegian media group.

Name

Bergens Tidende

Legal name

Bergens Tidende

Website

https://bt.no

Company type

Private

Founded year

1868

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Bergens Tidende is the principal regional newspaper serving Bergen and Vestland county in Western Norway, delivering local, national, and international news via its bt.no digital platform, print edition, e-avis, podcasts, and subscription bundles under Schibsted ownership.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Regional Newspaper Publishing

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (513110), Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industry

National & General-Interest Newspapers (Print & Digital) (MPAJADAA)

Keywords

• Regional newspaper publishing
• Digital news subscriptions
• Print journalism
• Local news coverage
• Media advertising sales

Headquarters

HQ city

Bergen

HQ country

Norway

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Digital and Print Subscriptions: Bergens Tidende generates primary revenue through paid subscriptions covering digital access (website, e-avis/e-arkiv), print edition, and bundled packages. Subscribers access premium content behind a paywall on bt.no.
2. Advertising: The company sells digital advertising placements and sponsored content on bt.no. Advertising for business clients is managed via Schibsted For Business (schibstedforbusiness.com).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Bergens Tidende is a regional Norwegian newspaper publisher delivering local, national, and international journalism through its digital platform bt.no, a print edition, and supplementary digital products. The company operates a metered paywall on its website and sells bundled digital and print subscriptions, with advertising as a secondary revenue stream. It also produces a podcast portfolio, an e-avis digital newspaper edition, and a searchable historical archive (e-arkiv).

Product overview

Bergens Tidende operates a unified digital news platform (bt.no) serving as the primary news outlet for Bergen and Western Norway. The product portfolio includes the core digital news platform offering real-time coverage across news, sports, culture, weather, and lifestyle categories. Supporting products include the E-avis digital archive, Ballspark sports sub-brand with dedicated podcast and video content, BT's podcast ecosystem (Nokon må gå, Ballspark, BT Dokumentar), BT Magasinet for long-form journalism, and the Været weather module. The company operates a premium subscription model offering full digital access alongside free content.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Ballspark: Local football coverage section of Bergens Tidende
• BT Magasinet
• Nokon må gå
• BT Dokumentar
• Ballspark

Products and services

• Bergens Tidende Digital Subscription (bt.no) Paid digital subscription providing full access to the bt.no website, including local, national, and international news, sports coverage via Ballspark, podcasts, weather, and other premium content behind a metered paywall. Targeted at individual readers in Bergen and Vestland county.
• Print + Digital Bundle Subscription Combined subscription offering the physical printed newspaper delivered to subscribers alongside full digital access to bt.no. Targeted at individual readers and households in Bergen who prefer both print and digital formats.
• E-avis (Digital Newspaper Edition) Digital replica of the printed Bergens Tidende newspaper, accessible online via eavis.bt.no. Available as a standalone or bundled subscription for readers who prefer a digital edition of the print paper.
• E-arkiv (Historical Digital Archive) Searchable online archive of past Bergens Tidende editions, obituaries, and historical articles, available to subscribers via eavis.bt.no/search. Functions as a paid value-added service to the core subscription.
• Corporate / Business Subscription (Bedriftsabonnement) Enterprise-tier subscription sold to businesses and organizations via the Schibsted Bedrift platform (bedrift.schibsted.no), typically billed annually. Provides corporate access to BT's digital and print news content for employee or workplace use.
• Advertising on bt.no Sale of digital advertising placements and sponsored content on the bt.no platform to reach BT's regional audience. Business client sales are managed through Schibsted For Business (schibstedforbusiness.com).

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Schibsted (Parent Company)coreOthersBergens Tidende is owned by Schibsted, a major Norwegian media group. The partnership enables shared technology infrastructure, corporate advertising sales through Schibsted For Business, enterprise subscription platforms (Schibsted Bedrift), and cross-media synergies within the Schibsted portfolio of newspapers, digital products, and marketplace platforms.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Fædrelandsvennen: Fædrelandsvennen is the regional newspaper serving Kristiansand and Agder in southern Norway, operating digital subscriptions and print with a similar regional/local journalism focus. It is a fellow Schibsted title competing for the same national advertising and corporate subscription wallet.
• Bergensavisen: Bergensavisen is the second major newspaper in Bergen, providing direct local-market competition to Bergens Tidende in the Bergen and Vestland region through its own digital and print editions. It targets the same advertisers and subscribers across the same geography.
• Stavanger Aftenblad: Stavanger Aftenblad is the principal regional newspaper for Stavanger/Rogaland, Norway, owned by Schibsted. It operates the same digital-plus-print subscription model with paywall and serves a comparable urban Norwegian regional audience, making it BT's closest structural analog within the Schibsted portfolio.
• Adresseavisen: Adresseavisen is the regional newspaper of Trondheim/Trøndelag, also owned by Schibsted. It runs a near-identical subscription-based digital and print news model targeting a major Norwegian city, providing the same Schibsted Bedrift and Schibsted For Business sales infrastructure as Bergens Tidende.

Broad incumbents

• Aftenposten: Aftenposten is Norway's largest national newspaper and a Schibsted title, offering the same subscription and advertising products but with an Oslo-centric, national focus and substantially larger scale than BT, making it a broader incumbent competing for the same Norwegian reader and advertiser.
• VG (Verdens Gang): VG is Norway's highest-trafficked digital news outlet and another Schibsted title, combining tabloid journalism with mass-market digital subscriptions. It competes with BT for national and international news readership as well as for advertisers targeting the broader Norwegian consumer.
• Dagbladet: Dagbladet is a major Norwegian national tabloid with a large digital subscription base. It overlaps with BT's national and lifestyle coverage and competes for both consumer subscription spend and digital advertising in the Norwegian market.
• Amedia: Amedia is Norway's largest local and regional newspaper group, operating more than 70 titles across the country. While not a single-title peer, it is a Schibsted competitor that anchors the subscription and advertising infrastructure against which BT's regional economics are benchmarked.

Others

• Polaris Media: Polaris Media is a Norwegian regional media group operating newspapers, digital outlets, and printing operations, including shares in regional titles. It is an adjacent ecosystem participant and strategic competitor for M&A and regional ad budgets that affect BT's market position.

Regional players

• Nordlys: Nordlys is the leading regional newspaper in northern Norway (Tromsø), owned by Amedia. It runs a comparable subscription-led regional news model but serves a different geography, making it a structural peer rather than a direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/btno
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@bergensidende
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bergens-tidende
• Facebookfacebook.com/bergenstidende

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Bergens Tidende