East News

What East News does

East News sp. z o. o. is a Polish photo agency founded in 1992 and headquartered in Warsaw, operating the largest photo bank in Poland. The company runs an online self-serve platform providing access to over 50 million images spanning press photography, news, sports, celebrities, fashion, archival materials, and stock collections. East News represents major international photo agencies including AFP, Rex Features, AP, Sipa Press, Polaris, Redux, Everett Collection, Le Figaro, New York Times, Mondadori Press, SPL, and AGE Fotostock, and operates offices in Warsaw, Moscow, and Kiev with partner agencies in over 20 countries.

The company's core product is an online image database with search and licensing functionality, supported by editorial photography services, scanning and retouching services, and data recovery from SD cards. Additional product lines include film/video content and dedicated fashion photography archives covering major fashion weeks in Paris, Milan, New York, and London. The platform distinguishes itself through unique historical archives covering Polish leaders, Solidarity movement materials, Pope John Paul II's early life, and Russian historical figures that competitors cannot easily replicate.

East News monetizes through transaction-based image licensing, with tiered pricing ranging from approximately 30 EUR for private print use to 90 EUR for commercial print publication use, plus a +100% surcharge for internet usage. The primary customer base consists of professional media clients in publishing, newspapers, magazines, and books, alongside commercial users in advertising and marketing. The company employs over 50 people across Poland, Russia, and Ukraine and remains privately held as a Polish limited liability company with no disclosed parent, venture capital backing, or public listing.

Name

East News

Legal name

East News sp. z o. o.

Website

https://eastnews.pl

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

East News is a Polish photo agency founded in 1992, operating an online platform with 50 million+ images for media and commercial clients. The company represents major international photo agencies and offers editorial photography, archival collections, and video content.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Stock Photography Agency

NAICS

Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (519), Publishing Industries (513)

SIC

Services-Allied To Motion Picture Distribution (7829), Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Distribution (7822), Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)

akta.pro primary industry

Footage & Stock Media Licensing (Archival/Newsreel/Stock) (MPADALAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Archive & Library Footage Licensing (News, Sports, Entertainment) (MPABANAC), Syndication, Licensing & Content Partnerships (Columns, Features, Photos) (MPAJADAI), News & Current Affairs Aggregators (MPACAKAA)

Keywords

• Stock photography licensing
• Editorial photo agency
• Press image licensing
• Photo content database
• News photography distribution

Headquarters

HQ city

Warsaw

HQ country

Poland

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Image licensing: Revenue generated through licensing photographs for various uses including editorial, commercial internet, and print publications. Different pricing tiers for private vs commercial use.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

East News operates an online photo database providing immediate access to over 50,000,000 images from press photography, events, sports, celebrities, features, archives, fashion, and stock content. The company licenses these images to professional media clients (newspapers, magazines, books, commercial users) on a per-use transaction basis, with tiered pricing for private use, internet use, and print publications. The platform aggregates content from prestigious international photo agencies including AFP, Rex Features, AP, Sipa Press, Polaris, and others, supplemented by unique historical archives covering Polish history, Pope John Paul II, and Russian historical figures.

Product overview

East News is a photo agency founded in 1992 that operates as a content aggregation and distribution platform. The core product is an online database providing access to over 50,000,000 images spanning press photography, events, sports, celebrities, features, sessions, archives, fashion, and stock content. The company represents prestigious photo agencies including AFP, Rex Features, AP, Sipa Press, Polaris, Redux, Everett Collection, Le Figaro, New York Times, Mondadori Press, SPL, and AGE Fotostock. Services include editorial photography assignments, scanning and retouching, and data recovery. Additional products include film/video content and comprehensive fashion photography archives from major fashion weeks.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• East News Photo Database Online database providing immediate access to over 50,000,000 images from press photography, events, sports, celebrities, features, sessions, archives, fashion, and stock content. Customers can search, preview, and license images on a per-use transaction basis for editorial, commercial internet, and print use.
• Editorial Photography Services Custom photography assignments and features produced in Poland, Ukraine, Russia and former Russian republics by talented staff photographers, available for media clients needing bespoke editorial content.
• Scanning and Retouching Services Professional scanning and retouching services at competitive prices, including data recovery from SD cards, offered alongside the core image licensing business.
• Film/Video Content News, celebrity, and feature video content covering current events and entertainment from global sources, available through the East News platform alongside its photographic offerings.

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• AFPcoreTechnology or IntegrationPrestigious French international news agency providing global news coverage.
• Rex FeaturescoreTechnology or IntegrationPrestigious UK-based photo agency specializing in entertainment and celebrity photography.
• AP (Associated Press)coreTechnology or IntegrationMajor American international news agency.
• Sipa PresscoreTechnology or IntegrationFrench photo news agency.
• PolariscoreTechnology or IntegrationPhoto agency specializing in news and documentary photography.
• ReduxcoreTechnology or IntegrationPhoto agency represented by East News.
• Everett CollectioncoreTechnology or IntegrationPhoto agency specializing in celebrity and entertainment photography.
• Le FigarocoreTechnology or IntegrationMajor French newspaper and media outlet.
• New York TimescoreTechnology or IntegrationPrestigious American newspaper.
• Mondadori PresscoreTechnology or IntegrationMajor Italian media publishing group.
• SPLcoreTechnology or IntegrationScience Photo Library.
• AGE FotostockcoreTechnology or IntegrationStock photography agency.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• AFP (Agence France-Presse): Global news agency producing and distributing editorial photography and video. A partner content source for East News, but also a comparable supplier of news and current-affairs imagery to media clients worldwide.
• AP Images (Associated Press): Editorial photo and video distribution arm of the Associated Press. Functions both as a content partner to East News and as a peer supplying licensed news, sports, and entertainment imagery to global media customers.

Broad incumbents

• Getty Images: The largest global stock and editorial imagery platform. Directly comparable to East News as a licensing destination for news, sports, celebrity, and archival photography, but operates at a much larger scale and serves global enterprise customers.
• Adobe Stock: Stock imagery service tightly integrated with Adobe's creative tools. Comparable to East News in licensed visual content for editorial and commercial use, though distributed primarily to creative professionals within the Adobe ecosystem.
• Shutterstock: Global stock photography, video, and music licensing platform with a self-serve marketplace. Comparable to East News in transactional, usage-tiered licensing of stock and editorial content to media and commercial customers worldwide.

Regional players

• Westend61: German stock and editorial photography agency representing international photographers. Comparable to East News in aggregating and licensing editorial and stock content on a usage-tiered basis, with a similar regional European focus.
• Imago Images: German-based sports and editorial photo agency distributing content from European sports photographers. Comparable to East News in editorial/sports photo licensing for European media customers, with overlap in event coverage.

Direct peers

• Alamy: Stock photography agency that aggregates content from agencies and freelance photographers for licensing. Closely comparable to East News' model of representing multiple photo agencies and offering tiered editorial and commercial licensing.
• Reuters Images: Editorial photography and video distribution service of Reuters. Comparable to East News as a tier-1 supplier of news and current-affairs imagery to newspapers, broadcasters, and digital publishers globally.
• Depositphotos: Stock photography and video platform founded in Ukraine with strong CEE roots. Comparable to East News in geographic origin, stock and editorial content mix, and self-serve transactional pricing for media and commercial buyers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

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 East News