Expreso

What is Expreso?

Expreso is a daily newspaper published in Guayaquil by Gráficos Nacionales S.A., the company named in the copyright line on its own pages.^[1] In an account of its own history the newspaper writes that “La historia del país está en nuestras páginas desde 1973, cuando un grupo de visionarios, entre ellos el licenciado Galo Martínez Merchán, decidió fundar diario EXPRESO”, sets out an editorial line it summarises as “Informando lo que el poder quiere callar”, and describes a digital subscription paywall; the sections it lists include Deportes alongside politics, economy, opinion, Ecuador, Guayaquil, Quito, entertainment, international and premium content.^[2]

The same company publishes Extra, which the newspaper records as founded on 21 October 1974.^[3] Two of the six outlets on this list therefore share a publisher, which is a fact about ownership concentration in the Guayaquil press and is stated here rather than left implicit. No monitoring body's published assessment of ownership concentration in Ecuador could be retrieved for this page, so the observation is left as the two titles' own copyright lines show it.^[1][2]

What does Expreso cover?

Sport is a standing section and its football coverage is quantitative. On 14 August 2026 the newspaper published the LigaPro attendance series, giving “La LigaPro promedia 3.668 hinchas por partido en los últimos cinco años”, with 3,261 for 2022, 3,606 for 2023, 4,086 for 2024, 3,604 for 2025 and “3.787 hasta la Fecha 23” for 2026, and attributing the data to “el organizador del actual campeonato ecuatoriano” without naming the organiser.^[1] The 2026 entry is expressly a count to matchday 23 and not a season total.

On 13 September 2022 it published a head-to-head of the Clásico del Astillero, giving Barcelona SC “73 victorias”, Emelec “71 conquistas” and 86 draws in the domestic championship since 1963, and citing the magazine Four Four Two for a ranking of the fixture among world derbies.^[4] Outside sport it reports on the city and on its own founder: on 3 December 2025 it reported that a Guayaquil street would carry Galo Martínez Merchán's name, describing him as “un ilustre guayaquileño y emblema de la prensa libre ecuatoriana” and recording his death on 21 June 2022.^[3]

Its own account of its sections places Deportes alongside Política, Economía, Opinión, Ecuador, Guayaquil, Quito, Entretenimiento, Internacional and a Premium tier behind the paywall.^[2] That places its sport reporting partly behind a subscription, which is stated here because it bears on what a reader can retrieve.

How large is Expreso's audience?

No audited circulation or audience figure for Expreso could be retrieved for this page. The newspaper's own account of itself publishes no circulation and no audience number, and no audited press-measurement currency for Ecuador could be retrieved against which to check one.^[2]

The one comparative statement available is about the stablemate rather than about Expreso: reporting the death of its founder, the newspaper wrote that Extra “se convirtió en el diario de mayor circulación en Ecuador”.^[3] That is the newspaper's characterisation of a title its own publisher owns; it carries no figure and no date, and it is quoted here rather than adopted.

Since when has Expreso existed?

Two pages published by the newspaper give two different founding dates in the same month, and this page gives both and adopts neither. A news report of 3 December 2025 states that Galo Martínez Merchán “El 25 de julio de 1973 fundó diario EXPRESO”.^[3] A letter published by the newspaper on 26 July 2023 marking fifty years gives “el 23 de Julio de 1973”, the same founder and the publisher “Gráficos Nacionales S.A.”^[5] The newspaper's own longer account of its history gives the year 1973 and no day.^[2]

A third source was sought to settle the two days and none could be retrieved: no gazette entry, incorporation record or independent contemporaneous account of the first issue was available for this page. The year 1973 is carried by all three of the newspaper's own pages; the day is not settled.^[2][3][5]

Why does Expreso matter in Ecuador's sport?

It publishes the league attendance series in its own right rather than reprinting another outlet's, and it labels the part of the 2026 series that is a running count to matchday 23, which is the distinction that decides whether a figure is comparable with a completed season.^[1]

It is also a Guayaquil paper reporting the Guayaquil derby with a count of its own: 73 wins to Barcelona SC and 71 to Emelec with 86 draws in the domestic championship since 1963, a different total from those published by other outlets on this list, and one whose scope — domestic championship only — is stated.^[4] Its football reporting sits inside the LigaPro Serie A calendar, and the section it appears in is Deportes on the newspaper's own listing.^[2]