Media company sales increased

The consolidated sales proceeds of the Estonian media group Ekspress Grupp totalled 88.3 million kroons (EUR 5.6 mln) in October, 6% more than in September, the company said.
The group’s operating profit before depreciation (EBITDA) was 8.5 million kroons in October. The normalised September EBITDA was five million kroons, the company informed the stock exchange.
The sales [...]

RSF ranks Estonia sixth in terms of freedom of the press worldwide

The international media watchdog Reporters Without Borders, RSF, has ranked Estonia 6th among 175 countries in its fresh media freedom list.
In the list for 2008 published last fall, Estonia was tied in places 4-6 with Finland and Ireland. The year before that it shared places 3-4 with Slovakia.
In this year’s rankings Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Norway [...]

British family acquired Latvian newspapers

Aleksandrs Tralmaks has agreed with the Rowland family on the conversion of the debt provided to Nedela S.A., and thereby the Rowland family becomes the principal investor of the Baltic Media Investments fund, announced LFS. 
In July 2009, Luxembourg based Nedela S.A. acquired from Bonnier Business Press the leading media group in Latvia, AS Diena and [...]

Investment to Latvia is surrounded by secrecy

Nedela S.A. under investment banker Kalle Norberg’s command bought Bonnier’s Latvian businesses on Friday, but the source of the money is unclear. Skype Estonian founders could have been behind the deal, according to information available to Äripäev, Äripäev reports.  Nedela S.A. is owned by Aleksandrs Tralmaks, former member of Latvian biggest daily Diena’s management board. The [...]

Estonia improves ranking in press freedom index

Estonia has further improved its ranking in the world press freedom index published by the New York based think tank Freedom House, rising to shared places 14-17 from positions 16-20 last year.
The freedom of the press index is an annual survey of media independence in 195 countries and territories.
In the report for 2008, released by [...]

Nokia pays millions for its name in Nokia Concert Hall

The developers of Scandinavia’s most modern 1,800-seat concert, theatre and conference hall in the Solaris Centre in Tallinn have agreed to start an extensive cooperation project with Nokia Eesti and to name the hall complex that will be opened in October the Nokia Concert Hall, announced Aivar Sirelpuu, head of Nokia Concert Hall.

Jüri Teemant, member [...]

Former Kalev Meedia bankrupt

Via Concept (former Kalev Meedia), a subsidiary of AS Luterma (former AS Kalev) filed a bankruptcy application to the Harju County Court, the company announced on Tallinn Stock Exchange.
The bankruptcy application is caused by permanent insolvency. The reason behind it is fallen advertisement market in 2008 and the company also couldn’t get additional finances from [...]

Sales of Ekspress Grupp climb 15%

Sales revenue of the Estonian media group Ekspress Grupp in 2008 totalled 1.32 billion kroons (EUR 84.3 mln), which is 15% more than in the year before.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation increased by 13% to 175.8 million kroons, Ekspress Grupp said in a disclosure to the stock exchange.
Source: Estonian Review

Dental treatment is fun with iComTV

Thanks to an Estonian start-up iComTV - founded by an Estonian rock guitarist Marco Rüütel and a post-production video engineer Arti Itra from New York - sitting on a dentist’s chair during the dentistry is now a pleasant and exciting pastime, Estonian IT and innovations news website Tigerprises.com reports.

How come? Easy. The guys from iComTV believe that [...]

Kruuda expands his media empire

Kalev Meedia, the media arm of the candy maker Kalev that belongs to businessman Oliver Kruuda, has acquired a local radio station and a free newspaper.
The company said it had signed a contract to acquire 100 percent of Kullasadu Invest and Tartu Ekspress, writes Eesti Päevaleht.
Kullasadu Invest owns radio station Sun FM that broadcasts programmes [...]