Estonian Media Market

Estonia’s media market is the most financially transparent and digitally advanced of the three Baltic states, serving a population of 1.37 million. Ownership is heavily concentrated between two private groups, Ekspress Grupp and Postimees Grupp, and the public broadcaster ERR, with a handful of smaller independent players rounding out the field.

Eesti Rahvusringhääling (ERR) recorded a 2024 turnover of €48.9 million (down 2.5% from €50.2 million in 2023) and a net profit of €1.43 million (margin 2.9%). ERR operates ETV, ETV2, and the Russian-language ETV+ on television, plus five national radio stations and the news portal err.ee. It has been entirely ad-free since 2002 and is fully state-funded. Its governance is managed by an independent Broadcasting Council. In 2025, ERR’s total budget rose to €56.6 million, partly driven by €11 million from the Cultural Endowment earmarked for construction of a new broadcasting complex. ERR’s TV channels reached around 562,000 viewers in 2024, approximately 41% of Estonia’s population, though this was 24,000 fewer than in 2023, reflecting broader audience decline across linear media.

The dominant private player is Delfi Meedia, AS (€36.7 million, +3.4%, profit €2.5 million, margin 6.8%), a 100% subsidiary of Ekspress Grupp AS, majority-controlled by Hans H. Luik. Delfi Meedia owns Estonia’s largest news portal Delfi, publishes the newspapers Eesti Ekspress, Maaleht, and Eesti Päevaleht, the LP weekend magazine, and popular magazines including Anne & Stiil, Eesti Naine, Kroonika, Maakodu, Pere ja Kodu, and Oma Maitse. In mid-2024 it also acquired the operations of Eesti Koolitus- ja Konverentsikeskus, Estonia’s leading conference and training organiser, boosting its revenue base. Ekspress Grupp is listed on Nasdaq Tallinn and operates across all three Baltic states, also owning Delfi portals in Latvia and Lithuania, as well as ticket sales platforms.

Postimees Grupp (turnover approximately €30.6 million for the 2023–24 financial year, the group runs May-to-April accounts and had not filed 2024 data by the report’s publication) is owned by MM Grupp (Margus Linnamäe), one of Estonia’s most prominent businessmen with interests spanning media, telecoms, and real estate. It owns the newspaper and portal Postimees (postimees.ee), Estonia’s leading quality daily. Its subsidiary Duo Media Networks OÜ, jointly owned by MM Grupp (Margus Linnamäe), RHC OÜ (Risto Rosimannus), and Wavelength OÜ (Jüri Pihel), operates Kanal2, Duo 4, and Raadio Elmar.

Äripäev, AS (€20.7 million, -0.2%, loss €3.3 million, margin -17.2%) is Estonia’s leading business media brand, owned by Swedish Bonnier News Business AB, the same group that owns 80% of Verslo žinios in Lithuania. Despite only a small revenue decline, Äripäev’s loss is significant; it has navigated the full transition to digital after ending its print edition in 2023. Õhtuleht Kirjastus, AS (€14.1 million, +4.2%, profit €534,528, margin 3.8%) publishes the tabloid Õhtuleht and is jointly owned by Ekspress Grupp (Hans H. Luik) and AHV Grupp (Heiti Hääl).

All Media Eesti, AS (€19.2 million, -8.0%, loss €3.3 million, margin -17.2%) operates TV3, Star FM, and tv3.ee in Estonia, owned by All Media Group, UAB (PLT VII International S.a r.l. — Providence Equity Partners). The company’s significant revenue decline and large loss stand in contrast to the stronger performances of its Latvian and Lithuanian counterparts, suggesting increasing advertising pressure in the smaller Estonian market.

Finally, Taevaraadio OÜ (€409,000, +27.4%, profit €88,802, margin 21.7%) operates Sky Plus and Retro FM and is owned by Harald Tehver, a small but notably profitable independent radio operator.

Overall, Estonia’s market is notable for its high degree of ownership transparency — all beneficial owners are publicly accessible via the e-Business Register — and its advanced digital subscription culture. Concentration is high but stable. The main risk flagged by the Centre for Media Pluralism is the growing gap between audience data held by editors and the data available to the public, limiting external accountability.

Key Media Companies in Estonia, 2024

Source: Baltic Media Health Check 2024–2025 (SSE Riga / Re:Baltica). Figures from annual reports obtained via Estonia’s Centre of Registers and Information Systems. * Postimees Grupp and Duo Media Networks run May–April financial years; 2024 annual reports were not submitted by the report’s publication date.