Aftonbladet to launch free paper

Norwegian media group Schibsted on Friday said its Aftonbladet arm was to launch a free newspaper in Sweden next month with an initial circulation of 300,000. The paper will be called “.SE” after the Scandinavian country’s internet suffix, and is set to be distributed in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmø. .SE is expected to contribute with an operating loss of around SEK 50m (EUR 5,4m) for 2006, falling to a loss of SEK 135m (EUR 38m) in 2007. However, adjusted for extra advertising revenues for the Aftonbladet group, the operating loss from the paper is expected to be around SEK 80m (EUR 8,7m) in 2007. Schibsted said that .SE is expected to become profitable after three years of operation. The company had already announced ‘new initiatives’ that would cost it between SEK 350m (EUR 38m) and 370m (EUR 40,2) in 2006. Schibsted is already a major player on the Swedish, and Scandinavian, newspaper market, as the owner of Svenska Dagbladet and a minority shareholder in Aftonbladet. (AFP, The Local,September 18, 2006)

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