POLARIS MEDIA ASA

What POLARIS MEDIA ASA does

Polaris Media ASA is a Trondheim-headquartered Norwegian public limited company (ASA) operating one of Scandinavia's largest media house and printing conglomerates, founded in 2009. The group serves 638,000 subscribers across 78 local and regional media houses in Norway and Sweden through both physical newspaper delivery and digital platforms (websites and mobile applications). Its portfolio includes well-established regional brands such as Adresseavisen, Sunnmørsposten, Fædrelandsvennen, and (via the Swedish subsidiary Stampen Media) Göteborgs-Posten.

The company is structured as a platform organization of eight main subsidiaries — five Norwegian regional media houses (Nord-Norge, Midt-Norge, Nordvestlandet, Sør, Vest), one printing operation (Polaris Trykk), one distribution operation (Polaris Distribusjon), and one Swedish media group (Stampen Media). The underlying technology stack includes a unified Schibsted-konto single sign-on shared with Schibsted Norge, Vipps for identity verification, Snowflake and AWS for data infrastructure, Segment.io and Amplitude for analytics, and a deployed AI layer for comment moderation, fraud detection, and predictive analytics. Editorial independence is structurally protected through Stiftelsen Polaris Media (the Foundation) and coordinated via Redaktørforum.

Polaris Media generates revenue primarily through recurring newspaper subscriptions (physical and digital, with family-sharing options) and a secondary advertising stream via Polaris Media Annonse and Polaris Media Brukermarked, leveraging Schibsted's ad technology for personalization and audience targeting. The customer base is exclusively horizontal — general consumers and readers across Norwegian and Swedish municipalities — and the company discloses annual turnover of 3.7 billion NOK. The company complies with GDPR, CCPA, Norwegian electronic communications law (effective January 1, 2025), and Swedish privacy and e-communications regulations.

Name

POLARIS MEDIA ASA

Legal name

Polaris Media ASA

Website

https://polarismedia.no

Company type

Public

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Polaris Media ASA is one of Scandinavia's largest media house and printing conglomerates, operating 78 local and regional media houses in Norway and Sweden that serve 638,000 subscribers through print and digital subscriptions and advertising.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Trondheim

HQ country

Norway

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Subscription Revenue: Primary revenue stream from newspaper subscriptions (physical and digital) serving 638,000 subscribers across 78 media houses. Subscriptions include family sharing options.
2. Advertising: Digital and print advertising revenue through Polaris Media Annonse and Polaris Media Brukermarked. Uses Schibsted's ad technology for personalized advertising and audience targeting.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Polaris Media ASA operates a network of approximately 78 local and regional media houses across Norway and Sweden, publishing subscription-based newspapers and digital news outlets that together serve around 638,000 subscribers. The group also runs advertising sales (Polaris Media Annonse and Polaris Media Brukermarked), printing operations (Polaris Trykk), and physical distribution (Polaris Distribusjon), and holds a stake in Swedish media group Stampen Media.

Product overview

Polaris Media ASA operates as one of Scandinavia's largest media house and printing conglomerates. The company is structured as a platform organization with 8 main Norwegian subsidiaries organized geographically (Polaris Media Nord-Norge, Midt-Norge, Nordvestlandet, Sør, Vest), plus printing (Polaris Trykk) and distribution (Polaris Distribusjon) divisions. Swedish operations are conducted through Stampen Media. Each regional subsidiary operates multiple local and regional newspapers with corresponding digital news platforms and applications. The organization emphasizes editorial independence through its Foundation structure and Redaktørforum.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Polaris Media Midt-Norge Regional newspaper and digital news publishing subsidiary covering central Norway, providing local news, advertising, and subscription products to readers and businesses in the Midt-Norge region.
• Polaris Media Nord-Norge Regional newspaper and digital news publishing subsidiary covering northern Norway, providing local news titles, subscriptions, and advertising products to readers and businesses in the Nord-Norge region.
• Polaris Media Nordvestlandet Regional newspaper and digital news publishing subsidiary covering northwestern Norway, providing local news titles, subscription products, and advertising sales.
• Polaris Media Sør Regional newspaper and digital news publishing subsidiary covering southern Norway, providing local news titles, subscriptions, and advertising products to readers and businesses in the Sør region.
• Polaris Media Vest Regional newspaper and digital news publishing subsidiary covering western Norway, providing local news titles, subscriptions, and advertising products to readers and businesses in the Vest region.
• Polaris Trykk Industrial newspaper printing services provided to Polaris Media's own titles and to third-party publishers, operating as the group's centralized print production arm.
• Polaris Distribusjon Physical home-delivery and distribution of printed newspapers and other publications to subscribers across Norway, supporting the group's print subscription fulfillment.
• Polaris Media Annonse Centralized advertising sales arm selling display, classified, and digital ad placements across Polaris Media's newspapers and digital properties to local, regional, and national advertisers.
• Polaris Media Brukermarked User-driven classifieds and marketplace offering connecting consumers and small businesses who buy and sell through Polaris Media's audience reach.

Quantifiable outcome

• 638,000 subscribers across 78 media houses

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration20 records

AI capability7 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Schibsted NorgecoreTechnology or IntegrationSchibsted provides unified login solution (Schibsted-konto) across Polaris Media properties. They also collaborate on advertising technology for personalized ad targeting and audience measurement. Polaris Media and Schibsted are joint controllers for data processed through Schibsted-konto.
• VippscoreTechnology or IntegrationVipps is used for identity verification, confirming name, phone number, and age of subscribers for subscription services and payment processing.
• NWT-gruppenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNWT-gruppen owns 20% of PNV Media AB, the investment company through which Polaris Media (80% owner) controls Stampen Media in Sweden.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Podimo: Podimo is a Nordic podcast and audiobook subscription platform that competes for a portion of the same consumer subscription wallet share and digital advertising attention that Polaris Media targets, particularly with younger demographics shifting to audio formats.

Direct peers

• Schibsted: Schibsted is a leading Nordic media group operating national newspapers (VG, Aftenposten) and digital marketplaces, and is both a strategic technology partner (Schibsted-konto, ad-tech) and a major competitor for subscription and advertising spend in Norway and Sweden.
• Aller Media: Aller Media is a Nordic publisher of magazines, newspapers (including Dagbladet), and digital media properties, competing with Polaris Media for subscription and advertising dollars across Norwegian and Swedish consumer audiences.
• Amedia: Amedia is the largest local and regional newspaper group in Norway, operating more than 100 titles and competing directly with Polaris Media's Norwegian regional media houses for subscribers, advertising, and printing/distribution contracts. Both groups share the same Norwegian local-news subscription model.

Broad incumbents

• NRK: NRK is the Norwegian public broadcaster, funded by public means but competing for audience attention and advertising adjacency in the Norwegian media market. As the dominant public broadcaster, it sets the competitive context for Polaris Media's local news offerings.
• Bonnier Group: Bonnier is a large privately-held Swedish/Nordic media conglomerate spanning newspapers, magazines, books, and digital services (including Bookbeat). It competes with Polaris Media's Swedish operations through Stampen Media and other Nordic titles, while operating at broader scale across multiple media verticals.
• TV 2 Group: TV 2 is a major Norwegian commercial broadcaster operating linear TV, streaming, and digital news services. It competes for advertising budgets and audience attention alongside Polaris Media's regional news properties.
• Egmont: Egmont is a Denmark-based Nordic media conglomerate operating newspapers, magazines, film, and e-commerce. It is an incumbent player in the broader Scandinavian media landscape, with overlapping capabilities in publishing, digital content, and subscription services.

Regional players

• JP/Politikens Hus: JP/Politikens Hus is a major Danish media group publishing Jyllands-Posten and Politiken, among other titles. It operates a similar regional/national newspaper subscription and advertising model to Polaris Media but is geographically concentrated in Denmark rather than Norway/Sweden.
• Sanoma: Sanoma is Finland's largest media company, operating newspapers, magazines, and digital learning platforms. It is comparable to Polaris Media as a Nordic subscription- and advertising-supported media operator, though focused on the Finnish market rather than Norwegian/Swedish.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/polaris-media-group_2

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments1 record

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

Frequently asked questions about POLARIS MEDIA ASA