Economic study on the impact of publicly funded PSM activities on commercial online news services in Lithuania
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) commissioned O&O to conduct an independent economic study (read here) to test the "crowding out" hypothesis in relation to publicly funded Public Service Media (PSM) online news in Lithuania. This study is a follow-up on our 2025 study for the EBU, which examined the “crowding out” hypothesis at a pan-European level.
The core aim of this study was to assess whether the online news activities of LRT – the Lithuanian public service media – negatively affect commercial publishers’ online news services. Using correlation and regression analysis, our study examined of several consumption metrics, including reach, page views, visits, and time spent.
Across our examination of these metrics, we found:
There is no evidence that increases in LRT’s weekly reach were associated with reductions in the weekly reach of commercial online news services. Rather, the results show a positive and statistically significant relationship, consistent with a “crowding in” rather than a “crowding out” effect
The results also show a positive and statistically significant relationship between LRT’s page views and those of commercial online news services, indicating a likely “crowding in” effect
A similarly positive and statistically significant relationship is observed for visits to LRT and visits to commercial online news services, again consistent with “crowding in”
The same pattern holds for time spent: increases in time spent on LRT are positively and significantly associated with increases in time spent on commercial online news services, also indicating a “crowding in” effect
In conclusion, across all outputs, we found no evidence that LRT “crowds out” commercial online news providers.