Baltic Media Health Check 2020

Baltic Media Health Check is an annual journalistic study that analyses trends, finances and issues of importance in the Baltic media markets. This year, the report has looked into how media companies across the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have been reacting to the unexpected drop in revenue caused by the global pandemic.

Besides the strategies the media implemented to survive during the pandemic, the report is also exploring the media's endeavours introducing paid content products. This has been a hot topic in the industry for years, as reader revenue provides an alternative to the advertising revenue, part of which has been flowing into the pockets of global tech platforms Google and Facebook. Within the last two years several Baltic media outlets, including digital-only, have started offering their users content for which readers and viewers have to pay. The report looks at how they have been pricing their products, what works to grow subscriptions, as well as their future plans.

Baltic Media Health Check has been created by the Baltic Centre for Investigative Journalism Re: Baltica in collaboration with the Centre for Media Studies at SSE Riga.