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Broadcast and traditional media · subsidiary of Tinius Trust (via Blommenholm Industrier holding company) · Norway

Schibsted ASA

schibsted.com ↗

Norwegian media and classifieds group, foundation-owned, now also runs TV4 and MTV broadcast.

Protection under test
Assessed 24 July 2026 · Evidence as of 24 July 2026
Something worth protecting exists and is being tested right now.
On the recordSince 24 July 2026 · Checkable from Q4 2026 / early 2027 · Every call on the record Checkpoint: Full-year 2026 results, first clean year with TV4/MTV consolidated
The call

Schibsted is absorbing a big TV acquisition and cutting jobs while AI chat tools chip away at news traffic, protected mainly by foundation ownership and locked broadcast rights.

Schibsted owns newspapers, websites, and TV stations across Norway and Sweden, making money from ads and subscriptions. Competitors like Google and ChatGPT are pulling readers away by summarizing news without sending them to Schibsted's sites, which cuts both traffic and advertising revenue. The company has some protection: exclusive sports broadcast rights through 2031, loyal subscribers who pay directly, and a deal to license content to OpenAI, but these tools do not fully replace the lost ad money, and whether paid subscriptions grow fast enough to offset the decline will become clear in the next year or two.

Why
01
AI pressure: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews. AI chat tools answer news questions directly, cutting referral traffic and ad revenue to VG, Aftenposten and Aftonbladet. Could AI do the core job? Only partly.
02
Bigger players: Google, Meta. Search and social already captured most digital ad spend years ago; AI search features extend that squeeze on news traffic. Could a giant copy it? Probably.
03
What protects it. Tinius Trust ownership removes investor pressure, and locked-in broadcast rights and subscriber bundles keep some revenue outside AI's reach.
What would change this call
Schibsted's full-year 2026 P&L (due ~Q4 2026/early 2027) shows digital-subscription growth vs. ad-revenue trend. Whether subscriptions are outpacing AI-driven ad and traffic decline or falling behind it.
Whether Schibsted announces a second round of layoffs beyond the ~350-job 2025 cuts during 2026. Would show ad/traffic erosion from AI platforms is accelerating faster than cost cuts can offset.
Renewal or breakdown of TV4/MTV distribution deals (e.g. post May-July 2026 Elisa blackout) through 2027. Would show whether the broadcast acquisition is integrating smoothly or adding ongoing operational friction.
Key numbers
  • Revenue rose NOK 7.54B to 12.52B in 2025 (2026-06-30)
  • TV4/MTV bought for SEK 6.55B, closed Jul 2025 (2025-07-01)
  • About 350 jobs cut in 2025 restructuring (2025-12-30)
Named risks
  • Secondary layoff wave if digital subscription growth fails to offset ad revenue decline through 2026. Severity: high
  • AI chat platforms continuing to strip referral traffic and ad revenue from core news properties. Severity: high
  • TV4 and MTV integration friction, as shown by the 2026 Elisa carriage blackout affecting 800,000 households. Severity: medium
  • Public confusion between Schibsted and the separately listed Vend Marketplaces ASA creating headline and reputational risk. Severity: low
Rivals, as read in July 2026
RivalDirectionEvidence
AmediacontestingAcquired Danish Berlingske Media in 2024, expanding cross Nordic scale against Schibsted
Bonnier GroupcontestingFormer owner of TV4 and MTV until 2019, competes across Swedish media and holds 51% of Danish Borsen
Alma MediacontestingNamed alongside Schibsted as a Nordic classifieds and news competitor in 2025 Reuters Institute coverage
AI chat platforms (ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity)gaining onDiverting news referral traffic and ad revenue industry wide since 2025, per Reuters Institute Nordic reports
Questions people ask
Is Schibsted profitable in 2025?
Yes. Schibsted's operating revenue rose from NOK 7,544 million in 2024 to NOK 12,523 million in 2025, and operating profit swung from a loss of NOK 40 million to a profit of NOK 586 million, per its June 30, 2026 results announcement covering the year including TV4 and MTV consolidation from July 2025.
Who owns Schibsted now?
Schibsted's media business is 100% owned by the Tinius Trust through its holding company Blommenholm Industrier, which bought it from the old Schibsted ASA for NOK 6.3 billion in a deal completed June 8, 2024. It is not publicly traded.
Is Schibsted the same company as the old Schibsted ASA?
No. The historic Schibsted ASA split in June 2024. The media business (VG, Aftenposten, Aftonbladet) became Tinius Trust owned Schibsted. The marketplaces business kept the legal shell and was renamed Vend Marketplaces ASA on May 9, 2025, still listed on Oslo Bors.
Could AI replace Schibsted's journalism?
Unlikely for original reporting: bylined accountability journalism and subscriber trust in VG and Aftenposten are hard to replicate. But AI chat platforms are already diverting referral traffic and ad revenue; Schibsted responded with an OpenAI content licensing deal signed February 10, 2025.
Is Schibsted laying off workers?
Yes. Schibsted announced plans to cut approximately 350 jobs worldwide in 2025, citing declining print circulation, stagnating ad revenue and rising costs, according to a Eurofound restructuring record dated December 30, 2025, from a base of roughly 2,800 employees.
Who are Schibsted's biggest competitors?
Nordic peers Amedia (which acquired Danish Berlingske Media in 2024) and Bonnier Group (former owner of TV4/MTV until 2019) compete directly in news and broadcast. Increasingly, AI chat assistants like ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews are cited as the main threat to referral traffic since 2025.
Timeline
  • 2026-07-03MTV Elisa distribution dispute resolved, ice-hockey rights locked through 2031-32
  • 2026-06-30Schibsted reports 2025 revenue NOK 12.523B, operating profit NOK 586M
  • 2026-03-17Schibsted open sources Videofy text to video news tool
  • 2026-02Schibsted Ad Choices personalized ad or pay product launched
  • 2025-07-01Acquisition of TV4 and MTV from Telia closes
  • 2025-05-09Old Schibsted ASA formally renamed Vend Marketplaces ASA
  • 2025-05-06Hej Aftonbladet and HeiVG AI news chatbots launch, 50 languages
  • 2025-02-25Schibsted agrees to acquire TV4 and MTV from Telia for SEK 6.55B
  • 2025-02-10OpenAI Schibsted content licensing partnership announced
  • 2024-06-08Schibsted Media spins off, becomes 100% Tinius Trust owned
Revision history
24 July 2026
First assessed. Protection under test. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.
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