Read up on the full press release here with commentary from Mediavision’s senior analyst Fredrik Liljeqvist.

The Norwegian media group Schibsted has begun a process to split into two companies. Its’ media operations will be sold to Schibsted’s majority owner, the foundation Tinius.

Schibsted’s current News Media business operation, the ownership stakes in Polaris Media ASA, and other media assets, would be carved out from Schibsted into a separate company. Schibsted Media, which is the preliminary name of this company, is planned to be sold to, and privately held by, the foundation Tinius. Schibsted’s remaining businesses, “Schibsted Marketplace”, will remain as a publicly listed company on the Oslo Stock Exchange. It will consist of the current business areas which are named Nordic Marketplaces, delivery, and growth & investments.

The total transaction value is NOK 6.2 billion, consisting of NOK 5.4 billion for Schibsted’s News Media business area, Schibsted’s minority stakes in Norsk Telegrambyrå AS, TT Nyhetsbyrån AB, and Lokalavisene AS. The stake in Polaris is valued at NOK 0.8 billion based on the weighted average price of Polaris the week prior to the signing of the agreement.

Execution of the final transaction agreements and closing is expected in the first half of next year. The company’s shares in Viaplay Group, which was acquired by Schibsted this summer, is not a part of the media operation sale. Schibsted’s stock rose around 13 percent Monday morning after the announcement.

Today, Wednesday, the European Parliament will vote on the re-assessment of the current geo-blocking regulation. In 2018, the EU banned geo-blocking for most sales of goods and services as part of a wide-reaching legislation. However, audiovisual content was excluded from the ban. The EU parliament will now vote whether to adopt a proposal that would see audio-visual content included in EU regulations that ban the use of geo-blocking technology to enforce territorial exclusivity for film and TV content.

Media companies have long argued that territorial exclusivity is key to their business models. The joint letter states “that getting rid of the ban would jeopardize the creative and economic sustainability of the film and TV sectors in Europe. This would result in a drop in the number and range of films and audiovisual content produced, with a smaller variety of languages. Distribution and circulation would be drastically reduced across the EU. This would have a direct and negative impact on consumer welfare: significant reduction of choice in content, distribution, and access options as well as a surge in prices.”

Industry representatives claim that disrupting the model by banning geo-blocking would sharply reduce the value of most European content, reduce the incentive to invest in work from less widely spoken local languages or in content with less obvious multi-territory appeal.

Sweden: New record for digital listening – Advanced Television

Digital lyd fylder mere i svenskeres daglige forbrug – Mediawatch

Return of media piracy fuelling other crimes, expert says – Yle

Experterna: Medierna som går framåt när ekonomin viker – Dagens Media

Krisen i tv-branschen fortsätter – nu ökar piratkopieringen – Aftonbladet

Tittarna accepterar medioker tv när de inte behöver betala – Expressen

Marie Nilsson: Så påverkas innehållet av tv-krisen – Dagens Media

Sweden: Household media spend reaches record level in Q3 – Senal News

Köp av medietjänster ökar: ”Ett hyfsat billigt nöje” – SR

Summerat: Svenskarnas kontodelning kostar en miljard – Tidningen Näringslivet

Trots tuffa tider för hushållen – många fortsätter betala för strömningstjänster – SVT