Newspapers, journals, periodicals and magazines market in Europe: size, suppliers and public contracts

Market size and key facts

In 2025, public buyers in 30 European countries awarded 294 supply contracts for newspapers, journals, periodicals and magazines through award notices on TED; the 167 of them that state a value (56.8%) add up to €126 million. EU countries together imported €1.33 billion of goods in the customs headings matched to newspapers, journals, periodicals and magazines in 2025 (Eurostat Comext, HS 4902; sum of national imports, trade between EU countries included; all buyers, not only public ones), up 25.7% from 2023.

  • Since November 2023, 243 companies have won 811 public supply contracts for newspapers, journals, periodicals and magazines in 30 European countries, in 420 award notices from 259 public buyers.
  • 18.7% of these awards went to a company registered in a different country from the buyer; the most frequent foreign origin is United Kingdom.
  • The five companies that win most often hold 32.9% of all awards across Europe.
  • 48.5% of the awards whose notice states the number of tenders received a single bid.

In proportion

All public purchasing in the EU-27 — general government spending on goods, services and investment, the measure the OECD and the European Commission use for public procurement — came to €2.93 trillion in 2025, 15.5% of GDP (Eurostat). Award notices on TED cover only the contracts above the EU thresholds, so they show who wins, not the whole of that spending.

Source: Eurostat, government finance statistics (gov_10a_main, gov_10a_exp) and GDP (nama_10_gdp), retrieved 9 November 2026.

Updated · counted daily from contract award notices on TED and Eurostat international trade data · figures as JSON · free to quote with attribution (CC BY 4.0)

How to cite: Cresques, "Newspapers, journals, periodicals and magazines market in Europe", https://cresques.com/markets/europe/222-newspapers-journals-periodicals-and-magazines, from TED contract award notices (© European Union) and Eurostat Comext, updated 13 November 2026. Licence: CC BY 4.0.

CPV group 222 across the EU, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein: how much public buyers award, who wins, where from, and how the market splits by country.

The market in numbers

Public supply contracts in Europe: award notices published on TED from 2023-11 to 2026-11, by publication year.

Contracts awarded
811
in 420 award notices
Awarded value
€352.4M
from 68% of awards with a published value
Winning companies
243
with at least one award
Public buyers
259
hospitals, cities, agencies
Contracts awarded by year
Contracts awarded by yearNov–Dec 2023: 2222Nov–Dec 20232024: 26426420242025: 29429420252026: 2312312026
Table view
Contracts awarded by year
Nov–Dec 202322
2024264
2025294
2026231
Awarded value by year (EUR)
Awarded value by year (EUR)Nov–Dec 2023: €5.3M€5.3MNov–Dec 20232024: €156.6M€156.6M20242025: €126.4M€126.4M20252026: €64M€64M2026
Table view
Awarded value by year (EUR)
Nov–Dec 2023€5.3M
2024€156.6M
2025€126.4M
2026€64M
Who buys: contracts by buyer sector
  1. Universities, schools and research: 311
  2. Cities, regions and central administration: 249
  3. Economic affairs: 124
  4. Hospitals and health services: 77
  5. Armed forces and defence agencies: 27
  6. Culture, sport and religion: 9
  7. Social protection: 6
  8. Police, fire services and prisons: 4
  9. Other4
    Other: 4
Table view
Who buys: contracts by buyer sector
Universities, schools and research311
Cities, regions and central administration249
Economic affairs124
Hospitals and health services77
Armed forces and defence agencies27
Culture, sport and religion9
Social protection6
Police, fire services and prisons4
Other4
Contracts by buyer country
  1. 48 companies
    Spain: 205
  2. 47 companies
    France: 138
  3. Romania89
    1 companies
    Romania: 89
  4. Ireland75
    24 companies
    Ireland: 75
  5. 39 companies
    Germany: 57
  6. Italy53
    11 companies
    Italy: 53
  7. 34 companies
    Austria: 47
  8. Poland44
    12 companies
    Poland: 44
  9. Hungary30
    6 companies
    Hungary: 30
  10. Estonia15
    3 companies
    Estonia: 15
Table view
Contracts by buyer country
Spain205
France138
Romania89
Ireland75
Germany57
Italy53
Austria47
Poland44
Hungary30
Estonia15
Who wins, by company size as declared in the notice
Who wins, by company size as declared in the notice: Large companies 27.7%, Medium-sized 14.8%, Small 4.2%, Micro 0.9%, SME (size not stated) 21.2%, Size not stated 31.2%Large companies: 225 (27.7%)28%Medium-sized: 120 (14.8%)15%Small: 34 (4.2%)Micro: 7 (0.9%)SME (size not stated): 172 (21.2%)21%Size not stated: 253 (31.2%)31%
  • Large companies
  • Medium-sized
  • Small
  • Micro
  • SME (size not stated)
  • Size not stated
Table view
Who wins, by company size as declared in the notice
Large companies225 · 27.7%
Medium-sized120 · 14.8%
Small34 · 4.2%
Micro7 · 0.9%
SME (size not stated)172 · 21.2%
Size not stated253 · 31.2%
Foreign winners: where they are registered
  1. United Kingdom44
    United Kingdom: 44
  2. Germany32
    Germany: 32
  3. Netherlands26
    Netherlands: 26
  4. United States18
    United States: 18
  5. Austria13
    Austria: 13
  6. Czechia9
    Czechia: 9
Table view
Foreign winners: where they are registered
United Kingdom44
Germany32
Netherlands26
United States18
Austria13
Czechia9
Imports of these goods into the EU 27, all buyers (EUR)
Imports of these goods into the EU 27, all buyers (EUR)2023: €1.1B€1.1B20232024: €1.3B€1.3B20242025: €1.3B€1.3B2025
Table view
Imports of these goods into the EU 27, all buyers (EUR)
2023€1.1B
2024€1.3B
2025€1.3B

Imports: Eurostat Comext, customs headings 4902 (only headings whose trade is mainly this category); all buyers, not only public ones.

Awards to companies registered in the buyer's own country

81.3%

Awards to companies registered in the buyer's own country: 81.3%

152 awards went to companies registered elsewhere.

Share of the 5 biggest winners

32.9%

Share of the 5 biggest winners: 32.9%

Of all awards; a high share means a concentrated market.

Lots with a single bid

48.5%

Lots with a single bid: 48.5%

Among 724 awards whose notice states the number of tenders.

How we count: one award per procedure, lot and winning company, from live contract award notices; a joint procurement counts on every buyer's market. Values are the awarded amounts published in the notice (framework ceilings and estimates are never added), converted to euro at the ECB yearly average. Company size is the SME flag of the notice (eForms BT-165). Read the methodology.

Companies winning most often across Europe

  1. 1.EBSCO Information Services S.L.U.Spain · 44 notices
  2. 2.EBSCO Information Services SASFrance · 43 notices
  3. 3.EBSCO Information Services GmbHGermany · 21 notices
  4. 4.EBSCO Information Services S.r.l.Italy · 21 notices
  5. 5.celdes srlItaly · 21 notices
  6. 6.SUWECO CZ, s.r.o.Czechia · 15 notices
  7. 7.Elsevier B.V.Netherlands · 14 notices

Companies with a public page whose main category is this group, by award notices; a market map in Cresques covers one country and, on paid plans, lists every winner there.

Country pages

Countries with fewer than 25 winning companies in this group have no separate page; their awards are counted above.

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Questions

How big is the newspapers, journals, periodicals and magazines market in Europe?
In 2025, public buyers in 30 European countries awarded 294 supply contracts for newspapers, journals, periodicals and magazines through award notices on TED; the 167 of them that state a value (56.8%) add up to €126 million. EU countries together imported €1.33 billion of goods in the customs headings matched to newspapers, journals, periodicals and magazines in 2025 (Eurostat Comext, HS 4902; sum of national imports, trade between EU countries included; all buyers, not only public ones), up 25.7% from 2023.
How many public contracts for newspapers, journals, periodicals and magazines are awarded in Europe?
Since November 2023 public buyers in 30 European countries awarded 811 supply contracts for newspapers, journals, periodicals and magazines in 420 TED award notices; the 548 awards with a published value add up to €352.4M.
Which countries buy the most newspapers, journals, periodicals and magazines through public tenders?
Spain (205 awards), France (138 awards), Romania (89 awards) lead; 243 companies won at least one award across Europe.
How often do foreign suppliers win newspapers, journals, periodicals and magazines contracts?
18.7% of the awards went to a company registered in another country than the buyer; the most frequent foreign origin is United Kingdom.

Source: contract award notices on TED — Tenders Electronic Daily (ted.europa.eu), © European Union, published since November 2023; processed by Cresques. Numbers updated 2026-11-13.