Our Market

The population of Poland is over 38 million and GDP grew by 1.4 per cent in 2009.

The newspaper market (circulation and advertising) in Poland was estimated to be worth €460 million in 2009. The total advertising market decreased by 13 per cent in 2009 compared to a 10.5 per cent growth in 2008. The newspaper advertising market dropped by 13 per cent in 2009 and represented 13 per cent of the total advertising market.

The newspaper circulation market is estimated to be worth approximately €301 million. Circulation volumes in the paid-for national and daily regional markets declined by 7 per cent and 5 per cent respectively in 2009. This downward trend is caused by a combination of readers migrating from print to online and the global economic downturn.

There are four major operators in Poland who, between them, account for 66 per cent of the total paid-for newspaper market. Mecom’s operations include Rzeczpospolita, the leading upmarket national daily newspaper, business daily Parkiet and 10 regional newspapers across Poland, giving an 18 per cent share of the total market. Axel Springer, with a 19 per cent share, publishes Fakt, Poland’s largest national newspaper. Grupa Wydawnicza Polskapresse is the largest publisher of regional newspapers with a 14 per cent share of the total newspaper market. Agora publishes the daily Gazeta Wyborcza and the national free paper Metro, and has a 15 per cent market share.

The withdrawal of Dziennik, a key competitor to Rzeczpospolita, was the most important event in the national dailies market in 2009. After three years of strong competition with Rzeczpospolita and Gazeta Wyborcza, Dziennik was merged with Gazeta Prawna and a new title Dziennik Gazeta Prawna was launched, mainly to compete with Rzeczpospolita on the business subscription market. A relatively constant decline in sold circulation and readership indicates that the new title is under pressure and a further decline is expected.

Online advertising grew by 7 per cent in 2009, constituting 13 per cent of the Polish advertising market. There are approximately 15 million internet users in Poland, an 8 per cent increase from 2008. Internet penetration in 2009 was 52 per cent, a 12 percentage points increase from 2008. Presspublica increased its unique users by 33 per cent and Media Regionalne by 121 per cent.