Vocento Group

What Vocento Group does

Vocento Group is an independent Spanish multimedia conglomerate headquartered in Bilbao and listed on the Bolsa de Madrid (ticker: VOC). It operates a portfolio of 13 regional newspapers, the national newspaper ABC (founded 1903), magazine supplements XLSemanal and Mujerhoy, the Colpisa news agency, and adjacent digital businesses including the Sumauto automotive classifieds platform, Premium Leads, the Mateo&co and Content Factory agencies, and the lifestyle platforms Turium, WeLife, and Women Now. The company reported Q1 2026 revenue of €78.2 million (up 2.4% year-over-year) with a strategic goal to double its 207,000-subscriber base (85% digital) by 2029.

The business generates revenue through six streams: print and digital advertising across its newspaper portfolio (digital advertising up 10.6% in Q1 2026), recurring digital subscriptions (up 11% in Q1 2026), gastronomy events including Madrid Fusión (€7.3M revenue, up 16.7%), classifieds and lead generation (€6.2M), agency/branded content services (€5.3M, up 9.7%), and print and distribution services (€12M, declining). Distribution is omnichannel, spanning owned digital platforms (websites and native mobile apps), the Vocento.Medios direct sales organization for B2B advertisers, gastronomy events, and a Spain-only geographic footprint.

Under CEO Manuel Mirat (appointed October 2024) and Chairman Ignacio Eyriès (appointed May 2026), Vocento is executing a 2025-2029 Strategic Plan centered on digital transformation and subscriber growth. The company simultaneously redesigned all 11 regional newspapers and the ABC national title in 2026, launched AI-powered reader assistant and content recommendation products (funded by €681,000 in Spanish government grants), and partnered with Telefónica Tech to build an enterprise data space for audience segmentation. Adjacent revenue lines (digital subscriptions, advertising, gastronomy, classifieds, and agencies) collectively grew 10.6% in Q1 2026 to represent 47% of total revenue, while the legacy print-distribution business continues to decline; the company exited non-core assets including Pisos.com, the SUR and Las Provincias headquarters, and the Relevo sports platform, returning to profitability with €6.7 million in FY2025 net profit after a €98.9 million loss in FY2024.

Name

Vocento Group

Legal name

VOCENTO S.A.

Website

https://vocento.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Vocento Group is an independent Spanish multimedia company operating 13 regional newspapers, the national ABC newspaper, digital subscriptions, gastronomy events (Madrid Fusión), classifieds (Sumauto), and advertising agency services, generating revenue across B2C subscribers and B2B advertisers with a primary footprint in Spain.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Newspaper Publishing and Media

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (513120), Periodical Publishers (51312), Advertising Agencies (541810), Advertising Agencies (54181)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Advertising (7310)

akta.pro primary industry

Content Studio & Creative Resourcing (In-house/Embedded Teams) (BPAFAIAJ)

Keywords

• Regional newspaper publishing
• Digital news subscriptions
• National newspaper media
• Gastronomy event management
• Automotive classified advertising

Headquarters

HQ city

Bilbao

HQ country

Spain

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Print and Digital Advertising: Traditional and digital advertising revenue across newspaper portfolio including regional newspapers and ABC national newspaper. Digital advertising grew 10.6% in Q1 2026. Company maintains solid advertising performance exceeding market average.
2. Digital Subscriptions: Subscription revenue from digital subscribers. Company has 207,000 total subscribers with 85% digital. Digital subscriptions grew 11% in Q1 2026. Strategic goal to double subscribers by 2029.
3. Gastronomy Events: Gastronomy division including Madrid Fusión, gastronomy events, food publications. Grew 16.7% in Q1 2026 reaching 7.3 million euros revenue. Includes agencies like Mateo&co and other gastronomy-related businesses.
4. Classifieds and Lead Generation: Classifieds business including Sumauto (automotive) and Premium Leads. Revenue of 6.2 million euros in Q1 2026, growing 4%. Includes used vehicles and renting classifieds.
5. Agencies: Agency services including Content Factory, creative agencies, influence agencies, events. Revenue of 5.3 million euros in Q1 2026 with 9.7% growth.
6. Print and Distribution: Printing and distribution services including ABC newspaper printing. Revenue of 12 million euros in Q1 2026, affected by reduced printing activity. Company developing more efficient operational model.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Vocento Group is a Spanish multimedia company that publishes the national daily ABC and 11 regional newspapers, weekly supplements, and magazine titles, alongside operating gastronomy events, automotive classifieds, and creative agency services. Its core commercial activities are advertising sales (print and digital) and paid digital subscriptions, with a 2026 strategic focus on AI-driven personalization, subscriber growth (target to double by 2029), and a data-space ecosystem for advertising audience targeting.

Product overview

Vocento Group is an independent Spanish media and communication conglomerate operating a multi-platform portfolio across news publishing, digital subscriptions, gastronomy events, classifieds, and agency services. The core publishing business comprises 13 regional newspapers (El Correo, El Diario Vasco, El Diario Montañés, El Comercio, La Rioja, El Norte de Castilla, Las Provincias, La Verdad, Ideal, Hoy, SUR, La Voz de Cádiz, plus provincial digital titles), the national newspaper ABC, and magazine titles XLSemanal, Mujerhoy, and Colpisa news agency. Diversification includes gastronomy events (Madrid Fusión, San Sebastián Gastronomika, Encuentro de los Mares, Discover Eat, Andorra Taste, World Cânnic, Gastrofeminas, Terrae), classifieds platforms (Sumauto for automotive, Premium Leads, Oferplan), advertising agency Content Factory, commercial division CMVocento, lifestyle brands (Turium, WeLife, Women Now), and the WeMass audience platform. All regional newspapers and ABC underwent major editorial and digital renewals in 2026, and the group is developing AI-powered reader assistance, content recommendation, and data intelligence products. As of Q1 2026, Vocento has 207,000 subscribers (85% digital) and revenue of €78.2 million.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ABC: National newspaper founded in 1903, one of Spain's oldest newspapers
• XLSemanal
• Mujerhoy
• Colpisa
• Madrid Fusión
• Sumauto
• Premium Leads
• Mateo&co
• Content Factory
• Kiosko y Más

Products and services

• ABC (national newspaper) National daily newspaper of Vocento Group, founded in 1903, distributed in print and digital, with renewed editorial proposal in February 2026 including new sections Enfoque and ABC de Cerca, multimedia content, and a new native app.
• El Correo (Basque Country regional newspaper) Regional newspaper serving the Basque Country, one of 11 regional titles renewed in April 2026 with new web, native app, and print edition.
• El Comercio (Asturias regional newspaper) Regional newspaper serving Asturias, renewed in April 2026.
• El Diario Montañés (Cantabria regional newspaper) Regional newspaper serving Cantabria, renewed in April 2026.
• El Diario Vasco (Basque Country regional newspaper) Regional newspaper serving the Basque Country, renewed in April 2026.
• La Verdad (Murcia regional newspaper) Regional newspaper serving Murcia, renewed in April 2026.
• Ideal (Andalusia regional newspaper) Regional newspaper serving Andalusia, renewed in April 2026.
• Hoy (Extremadura regional newspaper) Regional newspaper serving Extremadura, renewed in April 2026.
• SUR (Málaga regional newspaper) Regional newspaper serving Málaga, Andalusia, renewed in April 2026.
• La Rioja (La Rioja regional newspaper) Regional newspaper serving La Rioja, renewed in April 2026.
• El Norte de Castilla (Castilla y León regional newspaper) Regional newspaper serving Castilla y León, renewed in April 2026.
• Las Provincias (Valencia regional newspaper) Regional newspaper serving Valencia, renewed in April 2026.
• La Voz de Cádiz (Cádiz regional newspaper) Regional newspaper serving Cádiz, part of Vocento's regional press portfolio.
• XLSemanal (weekly magazine supplement) Leading weekly magazine supplement distributed in 27 newspapers (12 from Vocento), reaching 1 million readers each Sunday; renewed in March 2026 with new director Mar Domínguez.
• Mujerhoy (women's magazine) Women's magazine of Vocento, part of the Lujo, Estilo de Vida y Revistas division; renewed with Charo Marcos as director in April 2026.
• Colpisa (news agency / central editorial) News agency operating as Vocento's central digital newsroom; supplies content across regional titles.
• Kiosko y Más (digital kiosk platform) Digital kiosk platform for purchasing newspapers and magazines online.
• Sumauto (automotive classifieds) Digital automotive classifieds platform for vehicles and renting; part of Vocento's Diversification division with €6.2M Q1 2026 revenue.
• Premium Leads (qualified leads platform) Qualified leads platform, part of Vocento's Clasificados division alongside Sumauto, generating monetization from vehicle and renting intent data.
• Oferplan (employment and deals classifieds) Classifieds platform for employment and deals.
• Madrid Fusión (gastronomy event) Flagship international gastronomy event organized by Vocento Gastronomía; January 2026 edition recorded over 26,000 visitors.
• San Sebastián Gastronomika (international gastronomy event) International gastronomy event organized by Vocento Gastronomía.
• Mateo&co (strategic marketing and gastronomic consulting agency) Marketing strategy, communication, and gastronomic consulting agency of Vocento Gastronomía, led by Luis Martí as Director General.
• Content Factory (branded content division) Branded content and narrative creation division of Vocento.Medios, led by Marina Barroso Díaz, focused on brand storytelling and new advertiser acquisition.
• WeMass (audience measurement and engagement platform) Audience measurement and engagement platform, supporting Vocento's 207,000 subscribers (85% digital as of Q1 2026).
• AI Assistant for Readers (Asistente de IA para lectores) Conversational AI chatbot enabling subscribers to access articles, digitized newspapers, photographs, newsletters, alerts, and subscription details. Funded by Spain's Ministry of Digitalization and AI.
• Content Recommender Based on User Needs AI content recommendation engine that categorizes and recommends content based on the eight BBC reader-needs model (update me, educate me, give me perspective, entertain me, inspire me, connect me, help me, keep me interested).
• Unified Data Platform for Digital Subscribers Unified data platform for managing the lifecycle of digital subscribers; enables aggregate and anonymized analysis of subscriber navigation and content consumption, supports segmentation and editorial/communication strategy.

Quantifiable outcome

• 200% increase in landing page to checkout conversions for subscription business
• +7 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability8 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Sputnik ClimbingminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 June 2026Strategic collaboration agreement to boost visibility of climbing in Spain and promote new lifestyle habits related to wellness and physical activity. Vocento and Sputnik Climbing signed the partnership to promote the sport and create content around climbing.
• Telefónica TechcoreTechnology or Integration · 24 April 2026Telefónica, through its digital business unit Telefónica Tech, participates as technology partner in deploying Vocento's data space project and developing four AI application scenarios. The project is financed by European Union-Next Generation funds and Spain's State Secretariat for Digitalization and AI. Telefónica Tech is responsible for the data space infrastructure enabling interoperability, security, and digital sovereignty.
• Secretaría de Estado de Digitalización e Inteligencia ArtificialcoreOthers · 26 January 2026Spanish government body providing Next Generation EU funding for AI integration projects in media value chains. Funded two Vocento projects: User Needs recommendation system (€379,234.65 with €948,089 total budget) and AI chatbot assistant (€302,171.29 with €755,432 total budget).

Scale indicators23 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• PRISA: Spain's largest media group (El País, Cadena SER, As) competing head-to-head with Vocento across national newspapers, digital subscriptions, and advertising. Most direct comparable given overlapping Spanish news and audio footprint.
• Grupo Godó (La Vanguardia): Publisher of La Vanguardia and Mundo Deportivo — comparable as a Spanish regional/national newspaper group pursuing digital subscription and advertising strategies.
• Unidad Editorial: Publisher of El Mundo, Marca, and Expansión — direct competitor to ABC and Vocento's regional titles in Spanish national newspapers, magazines, and digital advertising markets.
• Prensa Ibérica: Major Spanish regional newspaper group (La Nueva España, Levante, Información) competing directly with Vocento's 11 regional titles for regional advertising budgets and reader subscriptions.

Broad incumbents

• Reach plc: UK's largest regional newspaper publisher (Mirror, Express, Star) executing a comparable digital subscription, AI personalization, and ad-data transformation strategy.
• Atresmedia: Spain's leading TV and radio broadcaster (Antena 3, Onda Cero) competing for Spanish advertising spend and audience attention with broader multimedia portfolio than Vocento.
• News Corp: Global newspaper and digital media conglomerate (Wall Street Journal, The Australian, The Times) — comparable at the strategic level as a multi-title publisher driving subscription growth and digital ad innovation.
• Mediaset España: Spanish commercial broadcaster (Telecinco, Cuatro) — broader entertainment/advertising competitor that commands large ad budgets from the same Spanish advertisers Vocento targets.
• Gannett: Largest US newspaper group (USA Today network) pursuing regional-to-digital subscription transitions, providing a relevant international benchmark for Vocento's multi-regional model.

Regional players

• Henneo (Grupo Heraldo): Spanish regional media group (Heraldo de Aragón, 20minutos) comparable to Vocento's regional newspaper strategy with similar digital transformation and subscription efforts.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/vocentotw
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/vocento
• Instagraminstagram.com/vocentoeventos

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles24 records

Subsidiaries20 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A1 record

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Vocento Group