Ibiza has lived today, Sunday, an unprecedented media battle. The two major local newspapers, Diario de Ibiza ( Grupo Prensa Ibérica) and Periódico de Ibiza y Formentera (Grupo Prensa Pitiusa), have crossed reproaches and headlines around a key issue: who leads the print media in Ibiza and Formentera.
And as in elections, there is not just one winner. Nor is there a single narrative.
The open cause has been unleashed by Periódico de Ibiza with an informative bet in its star edition of the week, the day in which it is absolute leader thanks to the distribution of the magazine Pronto, the latest certification of the Office of Justification of Diffusion (OJD), corresponding to the period July 2024 – June 2025, in which Periódico de Ibiza y Formentera surpasses for the first time its competitor in total diffusion. A fact that, although true, requires a critical and complete reading to understand what is behind the numbers that actually reflect a technical tie.
Victory on the overall scoreboard… but only on Sundays
According to data certified by the OJD, Periódico de Ibiza y Formentera reaches a daily average of 1,782 copies of total circulation, compared to 1 , 760 for Diario de Ibiza. However, the daily breakdown reveals a very different reality.
PIF’s leadership is almost exclusively based on Sunday, when it distributes 2,329 copies compared to DI’s 1,772, a difference of 557 copies. This figure is explained by:
-
917 kiosk sales (PIF) vs. 556 (DI)
-
697 subscriptions (PIF) vs. 550 (DI)
-
715 free copies (PIF) vs. 654 (DI)
The key is in the Sunday supplement: Pronto magazine, a product with great commercial appeal that is delivered together with the PIF newspaper. It is not an informative content, but a generalist entertainment product, which boosts the Sunday circulation figures.
From Monday to Saturday, Diario de Ibiza maintains its hegemony
On weekdays, from Monday to Saturday, Diario de Ibiza regains clear leadership:
-
533 sales to number vs. 240 for PIF
-
557 subscriptions vs. 721 PIF subscriptions
-
659 free copies vs. 728 for PIF
Overall, DI reaches 1,757 daily copies, compared to 1,691 for PIF. The difference means that DI leads the information from Monday to Saturday, while PIF concentrates its impulse on Sundays.
Who pays what? Business at a minimum
The analysis by type of issue reveals an increasingly weaker market. Overall, sales of both newspapers barely exceed 870 copies per day, which shows the decline of the paper in Ibiza and Formentera. The majority of copies distributed come from:
-
Subscriptions (some free or institutional)
-
Free copies in hotels, companies or institutions
-
Sunday sales conditioned by external products
Both media use free distribution as a means of visibility, but in the case of PIF this strategy is more intensive and structural, as evidenced by the fact that it distributes 726 free copies daily compared to 658 for DI.
Real-time editorial warfare
The publication of the OJD data was accompanied by a celebratory front page and a triumphalist editorial from Periódico de Ibiza y Formentera, proclaiming its leadership with terms such as “rigor”, “plurality” and “historic milestone”. The choice of Sunday to launch this offensive was not accidental: it is the day that PIF leads.
The reaction of Diario de Ibiza was immediate: that same Sunday it published in its digital version an outstanding news item minimizing PIF’s victory, which it described as “superficial” and “cheating”.
The media outlet led by Cristina Martín ridiculed the fact that its competitor “was only 22 copies ahead” in the overall average and accused PIF of “inflating its figures” with Pronto, free subscriptions and massive distribution.
The EGM, an opaque and questioned tool
To reinforce its defense, Diario de Ibiza cited data from the General Media Study (EGM), according to which it would have 18,000 daily readers compared to 7,000 for PIF. In addition, it used a shocking argument: that Periódico de Ibiza y Formentera “has no audience in Formentera”, as opposed to the 1,000 readers that the EGM attributes to DI.
However, the EGM does not make public either its questionnaire or its detailed data sheet, and it is only available to the media that finance it. This lack of transparency undermines its credibility, especially when it is used as an editorial weapon.
In addition, data from the Balearic Media Observatory (OBM), directed by sociologist Gonzalo Adán, contradict the EGM head-on. In its last wave, with similar methodology, the OBM grants:
-
34.172 readers to Periódico de Ibiza y Formentera
-
30,947 to Diario de Ibiza
-
14,679 to La Voz de Ibiza, the digital newspaper founded by Agustí Sintes, which in only two years has achieved a significant presence in the local ecosystem.
Conclusion: technical tie, open war
Periódico de Ibiza y Formentera has achieved what it had never achieved before: to surpass in total circulation the dean of Diario de Ibiza. But it has done so based on the Sunday effect, on marketing and distribution strategies, not on real sales or sustained reader loyalty.
Diario de Ibiza, on the other hand, maintains its strength during the week, leads in newsstand sales and has reacted forcefully. The war between the two is not only about figures, but also about stories, legitimacy and control of the public narrative.
Meanwhile, the data show that paper is no longer profitable. The real battle is being fought in digital. And there, there is a new player that is growing steadily: La Voz de Ibiza.
