(By Hekimen, Basque Media Association)

The Basque media spread practically all over Euskal Herria, most of them are paper and two out of three are local. Most of them are in the Basque Media Association Hekimen, with an important production size, which generates more than 57 thousand pages a year and 30 thousand hours of television and radio broadcasting. Paper is mostly distributed through subscriptions or direct sales.

Most of the media have increased production in the last five years and, despite the crisis and the decline in subsidies, the innovation effort and its commitment to the future stand out: most foresee innovations in the work process and in products, as in previous years, although product innovations are lower than in previous years. However, the media has announced that improvements in distribution and marketing and promotion will increase.

These data have been provided by the Basque Media Observatory (behstrategy. eus). The Observatory is an entity created jointly by the Hekimen Association, the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), the University of Deusto and Mondragon Unibertsitatea, and aims to collect and interpret media data in Basque. The database (http://dategia.behstrategia.eus) is therefore an indispensable tool to visualize the sector and design its future lines of work, which groups and collects three types of data: Socioeconomic data from all over the Basque Country: territory, demography, infrastructure, administration, economy, education and language; structural data from the Basque media sector: production level, distribution and marketing system, promotion and marketing, business structure and technical infrastructures, degree of innovation, expenditure and budget, sources and funding; and public data from the Basque administrations on audiences, grants and other European retail languages. The database has been developed with the technical support of Gaindegia and with the grant of the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa.

This great data collection never carried out to date has a strategic importance for the Basque media, and the Database and the Observatory itself are a good proof of their commitment to the collaboration of the sector, since in the same base of the project is the willingness of Hekimen partners to share data and make them available to researchers and administrations.

Wide dissemination

These data highlight the widespread use of the Basque media throughout the territory. The local media on paper reach almost all the municipalities of Gipuzkoa, while in Bizkaia they extend through the municipalities where half of the Basques reside. The proliferation of television concessions and the legalization of Euskalerria radio and historical media Xaloa Telebista have been the most important events of this last year. In Alava, a means of communication has just been created for the entire territory, Alea. In the North Basque Country, local radios follow a route of great tradition, grouped in a federation.

Araba 2%, Navarra 17%, Bizkaia 23%, Gipuzkoa 58%

Local 68.1%, Thematic 22.7%, National 7.4%, Territorial 1.9%

Publications on paper 41.7%, Internet media 36.1%, Radio by waves 16.7%, Television 5.6%

These media, in addition to fulfilling an important social function – guaranteeing the legally recognized right, that is, the right of the Basques to be informed in Basque – are the backbone of the economic sector. The 57 associations or companies belonging to Hekimen create 530 direct jobs. Six out of ten workers are women, a higher percentage in local media. As for the business structure, most companies are very small, with fewer than five workers and three companies with 25 or more employees. They all manage a budget close to 23.5 million euros. In addition to the employees hired directly, the sector has about 600 freelancers and more than a thousand volunteers. The contribution of these men and women who are not obliged to pay in return is fundamental for the sector, and represents well the creative character of the Basque media: created by the popular initiative and close to the popular initiative.

Paid subscriptions are, in the case of paper media, one of the main sources of income, but it is worth noting the high number of free subscriptions: 47%. This ensures accessibility, the ability to reach many homes. However, internet activity continues to grow. In 2014, 12.5 million sessions (visits) took place on different Hekimen websites. On average, just over a million euros a month. From 2011 to 2014 these visits have risen 32% and in the last year the upward trend has been reinforced. Taking into account only the first six months, visits increased 73.6% between 2011 and 2015. As a sign of this trend, in May 2015 Hekimen websites were concentrated with more historical visits: 1.784.677. The Hekimen Analytics tool, made up of the Basque media, allows the media to track their consumption on the Internet on a monthly basis, both personal data and the entire sector, as well as other Hekimen media.

Institutional advertising was less than 10% of revenues in 2014, and eight out of every ten media outlets that closed that year with losses. However, most media outlets have expressed their commitment to maintain their activity and have announced improvements in distribution and marketing and promotion. The self-financing of the sector is 63.7%, a percentage that reaches 70% in the national media. As for public subsidies, the Vice Ministry of Language Policy (VPL) is the main source (about 54% of the public contribution) and the municipal contribution is 25%.

Andoain, October 2016