Õhtuleht

What is Õhtuleht?

Õhtuleht is a daily newspaper with a news site at ohtuleht.ee, published by AS Õhtuleht Kirjastus. The competition authority, Konkurentsiamet, describes the publisher in its decision of 3 October 2025: “AS Õhtuleht Kirjastus tegeleb online uudiste, meelelahutuse jm sisu tootmise ja avaldamisega veebilehel ohtuleht.ee ning reklaami avalikustamisega trüki- ja internetimeedias.”^[1]

Ownership. The same decision records the publisher's shareholders before the transaction: “AS-i Õhtuleht Kirjastus aktsionärideks Aktsiaselts Ekspress Grupp (50%) ja AVH Grupp AS (50%)”.^[1] Ekspress Grupp's stock-exchange release of 6 April 2026 states that Konkurentsiamet on 2 April 2026 approved the transaction of 9 July 2025 under which Ekspress Grupp buys the 50 per cent previously held by AVH Grupp, and: “Tehingu tulemusel saab Ekspress Grupist Õhtuleht Kirjastuse ainuomanik”.^[2] ERR reported on 28 August 2026 that Ekspress Grupp had acquired full ownership of Õhtuleht Kirjastus in April of that year, after the competition authority's approval.^[3]

The competition authority's decision of 3 October 2025 opened further proceedings on the concentration, numbered 29/2025, before the approval of April 2026.^[1] Ekspress Grupp's release states that the parties would complete the transaction once all of its conditions had been met.^[2]

What does Õhtuleht cover?

The competition authority records the publisher producing and publishing online news, entertainment and other content on ohtuleht.ee.^[1] Its sport journalism is recorded in the awards of the Eesti Spordiajakirjanike Selts, the Estonian sports journalists' society.

In the society's awards for the best sports journalism of 2025, announced in January 2026 and reported by ERR, Õhtuleht entries were placed first and second for written-press publicistic writing (kirjutava pressi publitsistika), first and second for written-press competition coverage (kirjutava pressi võistlusülevaade), first and third for sports news (spordiuudis) and first for sports photo (spordifoto). Õhtuleht entries were also placed second for the best audio story, and second and third for commentary or column (kommentaar/kolumn).^[4]

How large is Õhtuleht's audience?

Ekspress Grupp reported on 10 April 2026 that the digital subscriptions of AS Õhtuleht Kirjastus, “50% of which is owned by Ekspress Grupp”, totalled 23,912 in the first quarter of 2026, at the level of the year before.^[6] That release describes the ownership as it stood before the transaction was completed. The figure is a subscription count for the publisher, not an audience and not a figure for sport.

Gemius, which measures Estonian web audiences in “Real Users”, reported on 7 November 2025 that “õhtuleht.ee remained stable, reaching 377 000 users in both months”, September and October 2025, counting visits from computers and mobile devices together; from computers alone it gave 145,000 in September. The measurement covers internet users aged 15 to 74 in Estonia.^[7] Those are one month's readings each, for the whole site and not for sport.

The Eesti Meediaettevõtete Liit, the association of Estonian media companies, publishes its members' print runs “tuhandetes” (in thousands), a table it describes as “põhineb trükikodade andmetel”, based on printing houses' data. It gives Õhtuleht 27.4 thousand for January 2026 and 25.4 thousand for June 2026.^[5] ERR reported on 28 August 2026 that Õhtuleht Kirjastus employed 170 people.^[3]

Since when has Õhtuleht existed?

No founding date for the newspaper or its publisher was retrieved from a primary source, and none is given here.

Its future form is documented. ERR reported on 28 August 2026: “AS Õhtuleht Kirjastus ühendatakse juriidiliselt AS-iga Delfi Meedia, kes võtab üle kõik Õhtuleht Kirjastuse õigused ja kohustused.” ERR reported Ekspress Grupp's announcement that this would happen from the following year, and quoted the head of Õhtuleht Kirjastus, Martin Šmutov: “Väljaanne ja toimetus jätkavad senist tööd ja tegutsevad turul sõltumatult edasi.”^[3] ERR also reported that the newsrooms stay separate and that the publications continue as separate titles.^[3] That is the plan as ERR reported it, not a completed merger.

Why does Õhtuleht matter in Estonia's sport?

In the sports journalists' society's awards for 2025, Õhtuleht entries took first place in four categories: publicistic writing, written-press competition coverage, sports news and sports photo.^[4]

The Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom's 2026 monitor states: “Delfi Media AS has also taken full control of Õhtuleht Kirjastuse AS, the publisher of the daily newspaper Õhtuleht. As a result of these processes, two media houses dominate the private media market nationwide: Delfi Media AS and AS Postimees Grupp (together with Duo Media Network OÜ).”^[8] The releases cited above name Ekspress Grupp, not Delfi Meedia, as the buyer.^[2] The monitor describes the framework in which both work: “Estonian media policy is liberal and is based primarily on self-regulation by private media and the minimum requirements adopted from the European regulatory framework.”^[8]

Reporters Without Borders, in its 2026 index, ranks Estonia 3rd of 180 with a score of 88.54. It states: “Subject to consolidation over the last decade, the Estonian media market now features two major private groups (Postimees Group and Ekspress Group), public broadcaster ERR, local media, and a number of independent online outlets.” It also states: “Media ownership in Estonia is so concentrated that it can be considered an oligopoly. The owners of the two major media groups also have stakes in other business sectors.”^[9] The CMPF's monitor states: “Estonian public service media and private media enjoy a high degree of political independence.”^[8] Those are the two bodies' characterisations.