Denmark has a total of 30 daily paid-for newspapers and one free newspaper. Compared with other Scandinavian countries, Denmark has the smallest number of newspapers, which to a certain extent is an effect of different strategies of public media support (which in Sweden is directed towards the “second” newspaper of a given region). Eight of the 30 newspapers are considered national newspapers (Politiken, Berlingske, Jyllands-Posten, B.T., Ekstra-Bladet, Information, Kristeligt Dagblad, and Børsen), while the rest are either regional or local newspapers, covering all parts of the country. From 2010 to 2018, readership of the printed press fell by 41 per cent. On an average day in 2018, about 1.6 million Danes read a printed newspaper, whereas more than 1.9 million Danes accessed an online news site of a daily newspaper (Slots- og Kulturstyrelsen, 2019d). The biggest national newspapers online are the two tabloids, B.T. and Ekstra Bladet, while the biggest regional newspaper is Jyske Vestkysten. However, the biggest of all online news sites are the two public service broadcasters TV 2 and DR (Schrøder et al., 2019).
According to the Reuters Institute Digital News Report (Newman et al., 2020), the willingness to pay for news in Denmark is at 17 per cent, the lowest amongst Nordic countries. Norway, at 42 per cent, has the highest willingness to pay for news in the world, followed by Sweden in second position at 27 per cent and Finland a close third at 19 per cent (Schrøder et al., 2020). In general, Danish newspapers have managed to survive in a disrupted news market; there have been layoffs, but major media outlets have not closed. The regional and local media, however, are suffering an immense economic struggle.
In 2018, 85 per cent of Danish households had at least one television hooked up to a television signal. However, the remaining 15 per cent could have possibly either owned a Smart-TV that was hooked up to the Internet instead or streamed television on their computers (Slots- og Kulturstyrelsen, 2019e). In 2018, almost 98 per cent of the Danish population had Internet access. However, there were some regional differences when it came to download speed, with the area around the capital Copenhagen having higher download speeds than the rest of the country (Slots- og Kulturstyrelsen, 2019b). Furthermore, both public service broadcasters and commercial broadcasters are expanding their streaming services, which is also forcing the shift from traditional television viewing to streaming. In Denmark, roughly 20 per cent of the population subscribe to television packages with more than 50 channels. Although television viewing in general is falling, when measured in hours of viewing, public service television is still the most popular. Public service television includes both the two national broadcasters, DR and TV 2, and the eight regional television stations that are part of TV 2 and which cover all parts of the country (Slots- og Kulturstyrelsen, 2019e). Since January 2020, DR has three television channels: the main channel DR and two niche channels, DR 2 (focusing on politics and culture) and children’s channel Ramasjang. Before 2020, DR had six channels. However, with the latest media policy reform in 2019, DRs budget was cut by 20 per cent, resulting in one channel (DR Culture) being merged with DR 2, and two other channels were reduced to streaming only (DR 3 for the younger audience and DR Ultra for children and younger viewers). Meanwhile, TV 2 has six channels: the main channel (just called TV 2) and five niche channels: TV Zulu (for younger viewers), TV 2 Charlie (for older viewers), TV 2 News (a 24-hour news channel), TV 2 sport, and TV 2 Fri (a channel focused on food, travel, and leisure).
DR also has the most popular radio stations in Denmark. In general, radio is still a popular platform in Denmark, though time spent daily on listening to radio in general dropped by four minutes – from 111 to 107 – from 2017 to 2018 (Slots- og Kulturstyrelsen, 2019c). As of January 2020, DR radio consists of seven radio channels with P4 being the most popular based on the number of listeners. P4 is made up of ten regional radio channels and comprised 40 per cent of the market in 2018, while P3, a channel aimed at younger listeners, came in a distant second with 12 per cent of the listing audience. Denmark also has a second FM public service radio provider, Radio 4, which took over the broadcasting licence of Radio 24/7in 2020. Radio 24/7 had previously been de facto excluded from seeking to renew its licence, a process causing heated public debate and political controversy. Since 2020, a new DAB public service radio station, Radio Loud, has been conceived to target young listeners specifically; however, so far it has had very limited success.
