Sweden has no law against media ownership concentration. In the newspapers market there are four dominant players: Bonnier (Dagens Nyheter, Expressen, Sydsvenskan), Schibsted (Aftonbladet, Svenska Dagbladet), Stampen (Göteborgs-Posten and regional newspapers) and Stenbeck (Metro). Bonnier is the biggest owner group, and its business interests have expanded in other parts of the country outside Stockholm. However, there is intense market competition between newspapers from different owner groups, both between national morning dailies and between national tabloids. As shown in the table below, the two biggest owners – Bonnier and Schibsted – maintain about the same market share as before. owner concentration has increased on other levels. Still, owner concentration is not high compared to other markets.
Table 4. Owner concentration in the newspaper market (% of total circulation)
| 1993 | 2000 | 2008 | |
| Biggest owner | 26.7 | 27.3 | 26.4 |
| 2 biggest owners | 43.9 | 41.8 | 42.5 |
| 4 biggest owners | 56.9 | 54.2 | 66.6 |
| 8 biggest owners | 73.2 | 71.0 | 87.0 |
| 16 biggest owners | 89.2 | 89.7 | 97.6 |
Source: Sundin 2010.
The national radio market is completely dominated by public service radio, as there are no other national private radio stations. The national television market has three dominant players: Sveriges Television, SVT, (public service), Bonniers (TV4) and Stenbeck (TV3, TV8). They control a large part of the TV market, but their share of the market has slightly declined due to the increasing number of ‘niche’ channels specialized in sports, films, documentaries, etc.
Table 5. Owner concentration in the television market (% of total viewing time)
| 1999 | 2004 | 2009 | |
| Biggest owner (PSB) | 47.0 | 40.7 | 32.8 |
| 2 biggest owners | 73.4 | 66.5 | 61.7 |
| 3 biggest owners | 92.9 | 88.4 | 88.0 |
| 3 biggest private owners | 46.1 | 47.7 | 55.2 |
Source: Sundin 2010.
