Sweden’s MTG, NetCom to Launch Everyday.com Portal

Modern Time Group AB (MTG) and NetCom AB will invest in a jointly owned company to build a portal, Everyday.com, which will offer revenue-generating opportunities via Internet advertising and e-commerce.

The 50/50 joint venture’s goal is to play upon the strengths of each company. MTG publishes content and owns several TV channels, radio stations and newspapers, including TV3, RIX FM, Power Hit Radio, Metro and Finanstidningen.

MTG also owns Webad, which sells banners and manages shopping sites such as WebShoppers Club, TV-Shop Europe and CDON, as well as the online auction system TeleAuktion.

NetCom, on the other hand, is one of the leading ISPs in the Nordic region with 718,000 customers through its subsidiary Tele2.

Tele2 is also aggressively promoting its free Internet access, launched on July 1.

“Taken altogether, this gives Everyday.com access to the entire value chain for transactions over the Internet,” said Niklas Zennstrom, acting president of Everyday.com. “We can earn money by offering everything: free Internet access, portals, advertising sales, content, e-commerce, payment services, and logistics on a pan-European basis.”

The site name Everyday is well-known to Sweden’s earliest Netizens. Everyday.se was one of the first portals in Sweden, launched in 1994. The portal is still in operation and is now run by MTG.

The potential for MTG’s and NetCom’s newly formed company is considered very high in the market. By making Everyday.com the starting page for Tele2’s 718,000 users, the company should be off to a flying start.

The venture’s initial goal is to build the portal for the Scandinavian countries. Next in line will be the Netherlands, where MTG recently began publishing the newspaper Metro. Tele2 Europe is also established as a leading telecom operator and ISP in the country.

Both MTG and NetCom are both part of the same group, which is controlled by Jan Stenbeck, and are traded on Stockholm Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq.