Circulation of Spanish newspapers continues to shrink, leaving many dependent on government advertising. Last year, El País lost 11% of print sales and El Mundo lost 13%. Online, pure-players like El Confidencial and Público.es gained readership at the expense of traditional newspapers. However, El País and El Mundo remain the largest papers in both print and online, attracting audiences three times larger than digital companies. Most Spanish publishers keep online content free, relying on advertising, while some digital outlets have experimented with crowdfunding and memberships.

1. / ANALYSIS BY COUNTRY/ ANALYSIS BY COUNTRY
SPAIN
Circulation of Spanish newspapers continues to shrink, leaving
many dependent on government advertising and a few major
businesses. Last year, El País lost 11% of sales in print, and El Mundo
13%. Freesheet 20 minutos is available in print in the biggest cities,
and it acts as a purely online brand elsewhere. Regional and local
newspapers remained moderately healthy, but many still have to
catch up online. Television channel La Sexta, with a broad range of
news and current affairs programmes, shows the biggest increase
among traditional media, while Cadena SER is the leading radio
network online and offline.
Online, pure-players gained ground in the last year at the expense
of traditional newspapers. El Confidencial – now profitable – is the
most read online-only newspaper in Spain, followed by Público.es,
which carries the brand of a print daily that ceased publication in
2012. News start-up, Eldiario.es, reached break-even early and keeps
growing with an extensive network of collaborators and partnerships.
But El País and El Mundo continue to be the papers of record in
Spain, both offline and online, where they attract audiences three
times the size of even the most successful digital-born companies.
Apart from digital newsstands, most publishers continued to keep
their online content ad-supported and free for all, with El Mundo
operating a generous metered paywall. Digital-born media have
experimented with crowdfunding and reader-shareholder schemes
and some have promoted memberships and donations in order to
reduce dependence on advertisers.
The Spanish Google News portal was removed in December 2014
in response to a state law that intended to tax the service, driven
by the newspaper publishing lobby. Google Search still displays ‘In
the news’ results and a ‘News’ tab for specific queries, with a limited
selection of stories, which is why it is still showing at 15%.
SN, AV and AA
STATISTICS
Pop 46.5m
Internet 75%
Trust in the news 34% (11th/12)
Interest in news 85% (1st/12)
REUTERS INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF JOURNALISM

2. DIGITAL
PARTICIPATION
45% share a news story via email or
social media. Spain is 2nd out of 12 in
overall participation index.
say the smartphone
is the main way of
accessing online news
24% say the tablet is
the main way of
accessing online news
10%
DIGITAL REACH CROSS
PLATFORM REACH
TRADITIONAL
(OFFLINE) REACH
NEWS
11%
NEWS
The increase in sharing news can be attributed first to the
growth in mobile and social consumption, and secondly
to intense public interest in the turbulent political issues
in Spain. Television, though, remains a key driver of
debate, with Podemos and Ciudadanos as new political
actors. Current affairs programmes in particular are widely
discussed on social media.
TOP SOCIAL NETWORKS*
39
14
11 10
Other
Apple
TabletSmartphone
APPLE DEVICES
VS THE REST
(% NEWS USAGE)
Apple
Other
Newspapers 60%
Broadcasters 48%
Pure players 46%
Newspapers 68%
Broadcasters 93%
Newspapers 79%
Broadcasters 94%
Facebook 52%
WhatsApp 27%
Twitter 22%
YouTube 22%
Google+ 13%
* used weekly for news
Eldiario.es
Yahoo News
MSN
ABC online
Telecinco online
Público.es
ElConfidencial.com
LaSexta online
RTVE online
Marca online
Antena 3 online
Google News
20 Minutos online
El Mundo online
El País online
COPE
RNE
Onda Cero
Marca
20 Minutos
Cadena SER
Regional or local TV
Regional or local paper
El Mundo
El País
Cuatro
Telecinco
LaSexta Noticias
TVE
Antena 323
18
16
15
14
14
11
11
10
10
9
9
9
8
8
5
44
43
34
33
27
21
20
20
19
18
17
14
12
11Eldiario.es
Yahoo News
MSN
ABC online
Telecinco online
Público.es
ElConfidencial.com
LaSexta online
RTVE online
Marca online
Antena 3 online
Google News
20 Minutos online
El Mundo online
El País online
COPE
RNE
Onda Cero
Marca
20 Minutos
Cadena SER
Regional or local TV
Regional or local paper
El Mundo
El País
Cuatro
Telecinco
LaSexta Noticias
TVE
Antena 323
18
16
15
14
14
11
11
10
10
9
9
9
8
8
53
44
43
34
33
27
21
20
20
19
18
17
14
12
11
ONLINE TV, RADIO AND PRINT
pay for online
news last year
(=5th /12)
TOP
BRANDS
% WEEKLY USAGE
News Video 27%
News Audio 17%
WEEKLY
MULTMEDIA
USAGE
DIGITAL NEWS REPORT 2015 30 31/