ElNacional.cat
ElNacional.cat is a privately held, Barcelona-based digital news outlet publishing Catalan-language coverage of politics, economics, sports, culture and society, supported by 27+ named columnists and a portfolio of specialized sub-brands including ON Economia, El Caso, En Blau and La Gourmeteria. It monetizes through programmatic digital advertising and a freemium Club El Nacional subscription tier.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded-
- HeadquartersBarcelona, Spain
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What ElNacional.cat does
ElNacional.cat is a privately held, Catalan-language digital news outlet operated by Grup Les Notícies de Catalunya, S.L. from its headquarters in Barcelona. The platform publishes daily editorial coverage of Catalan, Spanish and international politics, economics, sports, culture and society, anchored by a roster of more than 27 named opinion columnists including José Antich, Jordi Barbeta, Pilar Rahola and Gonzalo Boye. The product surface extends well beyond a single newsroom: the operator runs specialized vertical sections (ON Economia for economic and business news, El Caso for crime and judicial coverage, En Blau for lifestyle, Capgròs for Maresme regional news, La Gourmeteria for gastronomy, PodCat for audio, Top 20 for curated rankings) plus the Test de Llengua daily Catalan-language quiz game and the Club El Nacional freemium membership tier.
The underlying technology stack is a standard large-scale digital media CMS, instrumented with Google Analytics and ComScore for audience measurement and monetized through a deep programmatic advertising layer that integrates Google AdManager alongside at least 15 third-party demand-side platforms (Seedtag, Tappx, Magnite, SmartAdServer, PubMatic, Amazon Ads, Taboola, Criteo, Microsoft Advertising, SunMedia, Teads, Index Exchange, Ogury, Invibes, Adpone, RicheAudience). The publishing operations also use the European marketing-identifier product from Utiq SA/NV for post-cookie addressability, and operate within GDPR compliance frameworks. Editorial workflow is supported by named journalist bylines and a dedicated ON Economia editorial contact infrastructure.
The business model is a two-stream freemium construct: the vast majority of news content is free, generating revenue primarily through digital advertising — both direct and programmatic — across the ElNacional domain and its subdomains. The secondary stream is the recurring Club El Nacional membership, which provides access to game rankings, exclusive content, and newsletter subscriptions on an annual billing cadence, with pricing not publicly disclosed. Marketing and distribution are executed through owned channels (the website itself, sub-section subdomains, email newsletters, social media) rather than paid acquisition or field sales, and the outlet earns no disclosed institutional revenue beyond media operations.
ElNacional.cat firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- ElNacional.cat
- Legal name
- Grup Les Noticies de Catalunya, S.L
- Website
- https://elnacional.cat
- Company type
- Private
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- ElNacional.cat is a privately held, Barcelona-based digital news outlet publishing Catalan-language coverage of politics, economics, sports, culture and society, supported by 27+ named columnists and a portfolio of specialized sub-brands including ON Economia, El Caso, En Blau and La Gourmeteria. It monetizes through programmatic digital advertising and a freemium Club El Nacional subscription tier.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
ElNacional.cat industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Online News and Media
- NAICS
- Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131), Information (51)
- SIC
- Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Services-Advertising (7310)
- akta.pro primary industry
- News, Politics & Current Affairs Magazines (MPAJAEAO)
Keywords
Where ElNacional.cat is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Barcelona
- HQ country
- Spain
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
ElNacional.cat business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Digital advertising: The primary revenue stream for ElNacional.cat comes from digital advertising on their news website, including programmatic advertising through Google AdManager and various third-party ad networks
- Club El Nacional membership: Subscription/membership model offering exclusive content, results tracking and ranking access for registered members of Club El Nacional
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Annual | Club El Nacional membership |
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
ElNacional.cat product offering
Product offeringCore offering
ElNacional.cat is a Catalan-language digital news publisher that produces and distributes articles, opinion columns, podcasts, and specialized vertical content covering Catalan, Spanish, and international politics, economics, sports, culture, and society. The outlet operates a main news website supported by specialized sub-brands (ON ECONOMIA, El Caso, En Blau, La Gourmeteria, PodCat, Top 20, Capgròs), an interactive Catalan-language quiz (Test de Llengua), and a paid membership club (Club El Nacional).
Product overview
ElNacional.cat is a digital news media platform operated by Grup Les Notícies de Catalunya, S.L. offering a unified portfolio of news products including the core elnacional.cat news website providing comprehensive coverage of politics, economics, sports, culture, and society. The platform extends through specialized vertical sections: ON ECONOMIA (economic/business news), El Caso (crime news), En Blau (lifestyle), La Gourmeteria (gastronomy), and PodCat (audio content). Additional offerings include the Test de Llengua interactive language quiz game, Club El Nacional membership program, and the Top 20 ranking content. The main website serves as the primary product while supporting sections operate as specialized modules under the unified El Nacional brand.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- ON Economia: Economic and business news section covering markets, companies, and finance
- El Caso
- En Blau
- Capgròs
- Test de Llengua
- Club El Nacional
- PodCat
- Top 20
- La Gourmeteria
- Experiències El Nacional
Products and services
- elnacional.cat Main News Website
- Test de Llengua (Catalan Language Quiz)
- ON ECONOMIA
- El Caso
- En Blau
- La Gourmeteria
- Club El Nacional
- PodCat
- Top 20
Companies that use ElNacional.cat
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
ElNacional.cat technology and API
TechnologyAPI detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration21 records
Feature1 record
ElNacional.cat partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor.
- Generalitat de CatalunyaminorThe Generalitat de Catalunya (Departament de la Presidència) collaborates with ElNacional.cat as indicated by the logo displayed on the website footer under 'Amb la col·laboració de' (With the collaboration of).
- AMIC (Associació de Mitjans d'Informació i Comunicació)minorAMIC, the Association of Media Information and Communication, collaborates with ElNacional.cat as indicated by the logo displayed on the website footer.
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights7 records
ElNacional.cat competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Ara: Ara is a leading Catalan-language daily newspaper with strong digital presence, publishing politics, economics, culture and sport for Catalan-speaking readers. It is the closest direct competitor to ElNacional.cat in the same language, audience, and editorial category, and operates a comparable vertical-section product strategy.
- VilaWeb: VilaWeb is one of the pioneering Catalan-language digital-only news outlets covering politics, opinion, and current affairs. It competes head-on with ElNacional.cat for the same Catalan-speaking digital audience and has historically been one of the most trafficked Catalan news websites.
- NacióDigital: NacióDigital is a Catalan-language digital news outlet covering politics, society, and culture, with regional editions across Catalonia. It is a direct peer in language, format, and target audience, serving overlapping Catalan-speaking readers with comparable digital news verticals.
- El Punt Avui: El Punt Avui is a Catalan-language daily newspaper with both print and digital editions covering Catalonia politics, culture, and economy. It directly competes with ElNacional.cat for the Catalan-reading audience, especially in political and cultural coverage.
Broad incumbents
- ElDiario.es: ElDiario.es is a large Spanish-language digital-native news outlet with a successful reader-funded membership model (esAmigo). It is comparable as a digital-first Spanish regional/national news competitor, especially relevant to ElNacional.cat's subscription/membership evolution.
- La Vanguardia: La Vanguardia is one of Spain's largest general-interest newspapers with bilingual Spanish/Catalan content and a strong digital presence. It competes with ElNacional.cat on Catalan regional news and represents the broader incumbent that ElNacional.cat is attempting to disrupt digitally.
- elEconomista.es: elEconomista.es is a Spanish digital business and economy news outlet. It is comparable to ElNacional.cat's ON Economia vertical in category (economic/business news), target advertiser base (financial services, B2B), and digital-only distribution model.
Regional players
- Regió7: Regió7 is a regional Catalan newspaper covering Central Catalonia (Bages, Berguedà, Moianès, Solsonès). It is comparable to ElNacional.cat's Capgròs sub-brand (Maresme region) as a regional/local Catalan-language news operation with a digital focus.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
ElNacional.cat social profiles
Digital presenceElNacional.cat compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
ElNacional.cat financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
ElNacional.cat leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
ElNacional.cat subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries4 records
ElNacional.cat funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
ElNacional.cat M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about ElNacional.cat
What does ElNacional.cat do?
ElNacional.cat is a Catalan-language digital news publisher that produces and distributes articles, opinion columns, podcasts, and specialized vertical content covering Catalan, Spanish, and international politics, economics, sports, culture, and society. The outlet operates a main news website supported by specialized sub-brands (ON ECONOMIA, El Caso, En Blau, La Gourmeteria, PodCat, Top 20, Capgròs), an interactive Catalan-language quiz (Test de Llengua), and a paid membership club (Club El Nacional).
Is ElNacional.cat a public or private company?
ElNacional.cat is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was ElNacional.cat founded?
ElNacional.cat was founded in -1. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is ElNacional.cat based?
ElNacional.cat is headquartered in Barcelona, Spain, in the Europe region.
How does ElNacional.cat make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Digital advertising is the primary driver. The others are club El Nacional membership.
Who are ElNacional.cat's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Ara, VilaWeb, NacióDigital and El Punt Avui. Broad incumbents are ElDiario.es, La Vanguardia and elEconomista.es. Regió7 is listed as a regional player.
Does ElNacional.cat have an API?
No public API is recorded for ElNacional.cat.
What industry is ElNacional.cat in?
ElNacional.cat's product category is Online News and Media. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJAEAO, News, Politics & Current Affairs Magazines. Its NAICS code is 5131 and its SIC code is 2721.