The statistics on consumer spending in Iceland indicate that the average household spending on cultural aspects has decreased since the turn of the century (Statistics Iceland, n.d.-a). Moreover, no data is available on consumers’ spending patterns on the media alone.
Iceland’s most read newspaper, Fréttablaðið, is distributed for free to most households in the southwest part of the country, where about two-thirds of the people live, and placed at key locations for free pickup in other areas. Meanwhile, the newspaper Morgunblaðið relies on both subscriptions and advertisements, with the subscription cost now at ISK 7,530 per month, or ISK 90,360 annually. Online news are, however, offered free and open to all. The newspaper DV (published weekly) also relies on both subscriptions and advertisements, with a subscription now at ISK 3,290 per month, whereas its online site is partly pay-walled. Stundin also runs a pay-walled online site and a biweekly printed paper, offering both for ISK 2,490 a month.
The telecom and media house Sýn runs numerous other television channels including Channel 2, in addition to many radio stations. Its television channels rely on both subscriptions and advertisements. Many package deals are offered, with the basic subscription set at ISK 6,990 per month. All content on Sýn’s online news site visir.is is free of charge for readers.
The public broadcaster RÚV is subject to a special status by virtue of being owned by the state. Its biggest source of revenue is through a broadcasting tax, where everyone between 16 and 70 years of age, with income over the tax-free mark (which in 2020 is at ISK 152,000 a month) pays ISK 17,200 per year, or ISK 1,490 per month. So, for a household of two wage-earning adults with children under the age of 16, the broadcasting tax amounts to ISK 2,980 every month.
The average disposable income of individuals in Iceland in 2018 was about ISK 403,000 per month (Statistics Iceland, n.d.-b) and thus about ISK 806,000 for a household with two wage earners.
Paying the tax for RÚV, a subscription to Morgunblaðið and Channel 2, (in addition to receiving Fréttablaðið and almost all news websites for free) would add up to about ISK 17,500 a month, and thus represent about 4.3 per cent of the average individual’s disposable income. This amounts to about 2.2 per cent for a household with two wage earners. Such an amount can be considered readily affordable. As for the lowest incomes, minimum wages (before taxes) for a full-time position is, according to Efling worker’s union (Efling, n.d.), nearly ISK 335,000 per month. After tax and personal deductions, the net income amounts to about ISK 265,000 every month. For the media package mentioned above – costing about ISK 17,500 a month – this low-income individual would be paying about 6.6 per cent of their net income. While this may be considered an obstacle, in a household of two such individuals, the percentage goes down to 3.3 per cent. Overall, access to media can be considered as very affordable in Iceland.
