Our Market

The Netherlands has a population of 16.4 million, and GDP declined by 4 per cent in 2009.

The newspaper (circulation and advertising) market in the Netherlands was estimated to be worth €1,901 million in 2009 and has declined 16 per cent since 2008. Newspaper advertising was estimated to be worth €1,177 million in 2009 (of which €30 million is online advertising) and constituted 36 per cent of the total advertising market. Newspaper advertising declined by 19 per cent in 2009 compared with 2008.

The paid-for newspapers circulation declined by an average of 3.5 per cent over the year, with the national dailies suffering the most and the regional paid-for dailies declining by only 3 per cent in 2009.

There have been some major changes in the Dutch newspaper market in 2009. In July, Wegener sold its 37 per cent share in AD NieuwsMedia to PCM Uitgevers (“PCM”), thus giving PCM a 100 per cent share in AD NieuwsMedia. As part of this transaction, Wegener sold its printing plant in The Hague to PCM. Wegener also purchased PCM Lokale Media (“PLM”), a publisher of free door-to-door newspapers in Rotterdam. In turn, PCM was sold to the Belgian publishing group, De Persgroep. As a result of this transaction, NRC Handelsblad and nrc.next (together “NRC”) had to be disposed for anti-trust reasons. The Dutch private equity company Egeria, together with television
broadcaster Het Gesprek became the new owner of NRC.

Following these changes, there are three major operators in the Dutch market: Mecom, Telegraaf Media Group (“TMG”) and Persgroep Nederland. TMG is the market leader in the daily newspaper market with a 30 per cent share of the total newspaper market. Mecom is second with a market share of 25 per cent of the total daily newspaper market. Persgroep has a 19 per cent market share. Mecom is the leader in the regional newspaper market with a 63 per cent share. The weekly free-sheet market is fragmented, with Mecom as the market leader with a 48 per cent share.

The Netherlands has the highest internet penetration in Europe, reaching almost 90 per cent of the population. Online advertising sales in the Netherlands were approximately €356 million in 2009. After a long period of rapid growth, online advertising experienced a decline, albeit at a slower rate than the rest of the advertising market. However, its market share increased again, from 10 per cent in 2008 to 11 per cent in 2009.