Norway has a wealthy and digitally sophisticated population but its media industry is significantly less innovative than other industries. A study of Norwegian media firms from 2008-2012 found that only 1.7% introduced new products or services, compared to 11.5% of other service firms. Norway also lacks a systematic media innovation policy and none of its innovation funding supports media business model innovation. While some past policies hindered innovation by discouraging bundled digital/print offerings, ownership limitations meant to promote diversity may have also limited innovation, as larger media groups tend to be more innovative.

1. Panel - Best Practices of Innovation Policies
in the News Media Industry: Norway
Prof Arne H. Krumsvik, Ph.D.
Dept. of Journalsim and Media Studies
Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences
KRUMSVIK.COM

2. • a small country with high Gross
domestic product (GDP) per
capita
• a digitally sophisticated market

3. Media are significantly less innovative
• While 11.5% of the other service firms had introduced new products/services in
the period, only 1.7% of the media firms had done so.
• Comparing media companies to firms in the other parts of the Information sector,
showed a significantly lower degree of innovativeness in media companies on 7
out of 9 types of innovation including product/service, process, organizational
and marketing innovation.
Community Innovation Survey data in the period 2008-2012 on 174
newspapers, radio- and television broadcasting firms

4. Innovation policy
• No systematic media innovation policy is found in Norway
• The government favours horizontal and thus, sector neutral
instruments
• None of the 17 current research projects on business model innovation
supported by the Research Council of Norway, totalling 60 million NOK, are
dealing with media sector business model innovation

5. NOK 24 mill.
USD 3.0 mill.
EUR 2.6 mill.
GBP 2.0 mill.
OMEN - Organizing for
Media Innovation is a
research project funded
by the Norwegian
Research Councilґs
program BIA for 4 years.

6. Positive media policy measures
• The distribution of production subsidies according to the size of the
print circulation led to a situation in which newspapers receiving such
subsidies lacked incentives to develop offerings on new media
platforms.
• The difference between the zero rate for the print edition and the full
VAT rate (25%) for digital services meant bundled products would be
charged full or partial VAT: As a result such offerings were not created.

7. Negative media policy measure
Policy
• The idea that ownership
plurality leads to diversity of
content has been dominating in
Norway, and was used as
justification for ownership
limitations
Problem
• Media outlets owned by large
media groups are more
innovative*
* Krumsvik, A. H., Skogerbø, E. & Storsul, T. (2013). Size, Ownership and Innovation in Newspapers. In T. Storsul & A. H. Krumsvik (Eds.),
Media Innovations: A Multidisciplinary Study of Change (pp. 93-109). Gothenburg: Nordicom. ISBN 9789186523657.

8. Summary
• People are rich and digital
• Media are not innovative
• Media policies are not helping

9. Arne H. Krumsvik
KRUMSVIK.COM
Krumsvik, A. H., Pedersen, P. E., and Kvale, K. (Forthcoming). Market Structure and Media Innovation Policies in
Norway. In H. van Kranenburg (Ed.). Innovation Policies in the European News and Media Industry: A Comparative
Study. Berlin: Springer.