Funke Mediengruppe

The Spark Media Group, based in Essen, is a media company with interests in newspapers, advertising newspapers, magazines and electronic media in Germany, Austria, Croatia and Hungary. The Group consists of a number of nested enterprises, in which the individual media and operating parts are made ​​formally legally independent. The Spark Media Group does not publish figures, but considered by the industry as one of the most profitable media companies in Germany. According to the Federal Gazette Group net income amounted to 13 million euros in 2011.

The Media Group was created by the Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, founded in 1948. After acquisitions of other newspapers, the company changed its name in 1976 as a newspaper group WAZ, after further expansion in the electronic media since 1997 as WAZ media group. 2013, the group name was changed to the remaining owner's family spark after the retirement of the owner family Brost.

The Spark Media Group has a total range of over 700 titles, the third largest publishing house in Germany and one of the largest regional newspaper publishers in Europe. It publishes more than 30 daily and weekly newspapers, more than 170 magazines and trade journals, about 100 ad papers and 400 customer magazines and has a number of large printing for producing these. In the electronic media, the Group is involved in numerous local radio stations and operates Internet services. One focus of the group is the regional coverage, are operated in parallel in different media and in a region partially linked.

• 3.1 Newspapers
• 3.2 Display Sheets
• 3.3 Magazines
• 3.4 Publishing

• 4.1 television
• 4.2 Radio
• 4.3 Internet

History

Creation and expansion as WAZ Group

Founder of the Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung were Erich Brost and Funke Jacob. They both had 50 percent of the company shares. By buying out smaller competition title in the original area of ​​distribution, the WAZ has secured an economic monopoly in many cities of the Ruhr area as early as the 1970s. By journalistically independent continuation of the bought newspapers, the Group held the diversity of the media at the same time largely upright; a concept that became known as " WAZ " model and now imitated in many other regions. From the high profits in the core area, the company funded a large number of acquisitions of printed media as well as start-ups, especially in the private broadcasting and internet media.

The expansion of a regional newspaper for media group was led by the decades- long incumbent, well-known in the media industry CEO duo Erich Schumann, Vice President of Brost page, and Günther Grotkamp, represented the spark page.

Change of ownership to spark group

After the death of the two founders, the respective proportions were divided on a number of heirs: Shares Jakob Funke's inherited 1975, the daughters Petra Grotkamp, Gisela HolthofF, Renate thrust Ries and Ute de Graffenried. After daughter Ute had to pay in 1989, was one of the three remaining daughters, one third of the spark - family society. The shares Gisela Holt Hoffs inherited in 2011 by her adopted son Stephan HolthofF doorman, a well-known lawyer and entrepreneur who was speaker of the spark - page long time. The shares Erich Brost inherited in 1995 to 60 percent, his widow Anneliese Brost and 40 percent of the Brost 1985 adopted long -time CEO Erich Schumann. After the death of Schumann ( 2007) and Anneliese Brost (2010), the proportions of Brost Verwaltungs-GmbH were transferred to the three grandsons of Erich Brost.

The company's shares were 50 percent each bundled into two management companies. Therefore, the family members could only act together and the two family groups only decide by consensus. Changes to this model were made ​​more difficult because a WAZ participation without the consent of co-owners not sold to third parties but could only be passed on to family members. Because no simple majority decisions were possible differences of opinion were held both between and within the owning families in long-running conflicts. Among other things, in 2006 there were disputes between the shareholders to the distribution of the high proceeds from the sale of the RTL participation.

With the aim to change this constellation, Anneliese Brost was completed in 2008 secret agreements with Stephan HolthofF doorman, in which among other things, a purchase option for the HolthofF shares was included. Petra Grotkamp tried together with her husband, the longtime CEO Günther Grotkamp to prevent the division of the Funke family company with legal means. After the death of Anneliese Brost in turn submitted Petra Grotkamp the Brost - grandchildren an offer to purchase, the assumptions these with effect from 31 December 2011. Since then include Petra Grotkamp two-thirds of the company's shares. So after 63 years, ended the division into two owner families. The media group used from March 2013 without further notice the name Funke Media Group. In June 2013, the Group finally adopted a new legal form and now operates as a spark media group GmbH & Co. KGaA.

Acquisition of newspapers and magazines of the Axel Springer AG

On January 1, 2014, took the spark Media Group for 920 million euros by the Axel Springer AG whose national dailies Berliner Morgenpost and Hamburger evening paper, the program guides Hörzu, TV Digital, radio clock, picture week and TV New and women's magazines of woman and wife of Today. Thus, the Group increased its core business with printed media significantly. To meet the requirements of the Federal Cartel Office must be the spark media group of the program magazines radio clock, picture week, TV New and separate the two.

Management

The management of Spark Media Group is divided into three departments, each responsible for a managing director. Manfred Braun directs the Magazine Division, Christian Nienhaus is responsible for the regional newspapers in the group. Thomas Ziegler is responsible for the " Personal Finance Services ". Even at common times of the two founding families was Christian Nienhaus by the family spark appointed as Managing Director. For the Brost - side in July 2008 was a director Bodo Hombach from 2002 until January 2012, together with Nienhaus. At the end of 2007, a nine-member Board was established as a second management level that is similar to the Board of joint stock companies with split responsibilities.

Printed media in Germany

Newspapers

In North Rhine -Westphalia belong to spark media group in addition to the ordinary newspaper West German Allgemeine Zeitung ( WAZ), the Neue Ruhr / Neue Rhein Zeitung ( NRZ), the Westfalenpost (WP ) and the Westfälische Rundschau (WR ). In the largest part of the range of these two daily newspapers are published in parallel. In these cases, the readings are identical, because the tracks are marketed as an economic unit. Furthermore, the spark group at Iserlohn Kreisanzeiger and newspaper ( IMC ) is involved as a minority owner. In the core area of ​​Essen, the Group also has two weekly local newspapers buying: Borbecker news and Werdener messages. Together, these papers have a paid circulation of 656 406 copies.

In addition, the spark media group owns three regional newspapers in Thuringia, the Thüringer Allgemeine, the Ostthüringer newspaper and the Thuringian newspaper, and has in their distribution over a monopoly. Also in Thuringia be performed in parallel with identical ads per appearance area two newspapers. The paid circulation of the so-called newspaper group Thuringia is 277 263 copies. From the publishing family Voigt had the spark - group, 75 percent of the Braunschweiger Zeitung Verlag ( Braunschweiger Zeitung, edition of 144 561 copies) purchased. Shortly thereafter, the Essenes publisher acquired the remaining 25 percent of the Nord / LB Girozentrale. The purchase price is said to have amounted to 210 million euros according to media reports.

Display sheets

The composite of the West German publishing and advertising company ( WVW, 100 percent spark - daughter ) and the Ostruhr display sheet Company ( ORA, 50 percent Funke, 50 percent Ruhrnachrichten subsidiary ) are distributed free of charge display leaves with 76 titles out and is the market leader in the Ruhr. With over 5 million copies distributed every week the WVW / ORA display sheets are among the most local media. Two thirds of the titles appear on Wednesdays and Saturdays, along with the Einkaufaktuell of Deutsche Post AG.

Magazines

The magazines of the Group are organized in Gong Verlag and in the spark Women's Group, both of which are located in [ Ismaning ]. The total circulation of all titles is a week to the 5 million copies. The best known are Gong, image radio, TVdirekt, The Current, The golden leaf echo of the woman and a heart for animals. In ' Reiner H. Nitschke Publisher ' and the publishing group Bahn GmbH (VGB ) is the spark media group a wide range of journals out. In mid-March 2008, the spark group by publisher Gruner Jahr bought the women's magazine Woman in the Mirror. In March 2012, the spark media group separates from the model publishing and industry leaders VTH Verlag für Technik und Handwerk GmbH, located in Baden -Baden.

Book publishing

In October 2007, the Group has also entered the bookstore and bought the Essenes plain text publishing. The plaintext publishing has been a partner of the Group and distributes books with regional issues.

Electronic Media in Germany

TV

Participation in the RTL television was sold to Bertelsmann in 2005. In June 2008, the Spark Group acquired 24.9 % stake in the TV channel nrw.tv.

Radio

The Spark Group owns stakes in the local radio station Radio Food ( 75%), 107.7 Radio Hagen (75%), Radio Herne (75%), Radio Sauerland ( 75%) and eight other stations.

Internet

In 2003, the spark media group, together with the publishing group Georg von Holtzbrinck publishing group and the Ippen the ISA GmbH & Co. KG. This company specializes in classified websites on the Internet and operates, among others, the portals immowelt.de, stellenanzeigen.de, markt.de, motoso.de and trauer.de. The ISA GmbH & Co. KG operates since May 2008 markt.gruppe GmbH & Co. KG.

Since 2007, the Spark Group operates the regionally focused online portal DerWesten.de. Editor in Chief was from October 2007 to December 2009 Katharina Borchert, who took over as managing director for Spiegel Online. Her successor was Ulrich Reitz, also chief editor of the Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, which was replaced on 10 December 2010 by Thomas Kloss. The website brings together the papers of the publishing group. The offer is supplemented by various so-called Web 2.0 elements. In Internet portal DerWesten.de the spark group worked as the first publisher with WDR and therefore the public broadcasting together. On October 20, Reitz announced at the Munich Media Days, set the portal from 2012 in favor of portals for each newspaper title. However, the address derwesten.de to be maintained in addition to these. This is called a relaunch on the online offer itself.

The end of 2010 took the spark media group various health portals, mainly lifeline.de, Springer medicine. To offer one next to today's health news the free call function to specialists. For Lifeline family also includes qualified medic, health counseling and 9monate and special interest portals like scheidenpilz.com.

Media in Austria

The Spark Media Group holds shares in Austria at the tabloid Kronen Zeitung and Kurier on whose marketing and distribution on the common subsidiary Media Print is settled.

Since the investment in the Austrian Kronen Zeitung there were multiple disputes between the former WAZ Group and the former sole owner Dichand who own one half of the sheet. On the occasion of the appointment of his son Christoph Dichand by the controversial in Austria Altverleger in 2001 without the consent of the partner it came to an open break. The WAZ group objected to this decision and sat with Michael Kuhn a second editor in chief by the Dichand announced without notice after further disputes finally in 2006 alone. Since then both sides try to impose their ideas on the management of the publishing house and the newspaper in court; due to the corporate stalemate but so far without any lasting success.

In the context of this dispute threw Dichand other son Michael in front of the WAZ group to collaborate in Croatia with the " organized economic crime " and the attempt to take the " monopolization " and " Teutonisierung " the Croatian newspaper market. The WAZ was successful legal case against these allegations. Michael Dichand also attacked the former CEO of the WAZ Media Group, Bodo Hombach, personally, with the accusation that this was " a little house from the power company Veba ( ...) to fund, ie from the nuclear lobby ". In contrast, Hombach also sat with a lawsuit to defend. The Hamburg Regional Court prohibited in July 2007, these and other statements explicitly because Dichand could not prove his allegations in court. The Higher Regional Court of Hamburg has the appeal lodged by Dichand early January 2008, rejected.

Media in Eastern Europe

Beginning of the 1990s, the group committed for the first time in the Eastern European market and now owns several print holdings in Hungary, Croatia ( see Europa Press Holding), Serbia and Macedonia. The end of 2007 the Group announced the purchase of Russian regional newspaper Sloboda known and described him as a " starting point for further engagement". In August 2010, Hombach announced that the Group from Serbia and Romania will retire and is looking for buyers with high offers. This retreat went futile attempts ahead, first in the usual way, then the dubious middleman Stanko Subotic, which plays a central role in cigarette smuggling and money laundering in South East Europe, buy some Serbian newspapers. Early 2012 pulled the spark media group from Macedonia, in which they are entered in 2003, returned and sold the newspapers Dnevnik, Utrinski Vesnik and Vest.

Printing houses

The Spark Media Group operates two printing houses in North Rhine -Westphalia. They are located in Essen, close to the main railway station in Hagen- Bathey. In Essen are seven and nine in Hagen rotary printing machines. More pressure centers of the Group are in Braunschweig and Erfurt.