RTL Deutschland Reorganizes Its Publishing Division
As part of the reorganization, “Brigitte,” “Gala” and “Eltern” will be sold to Funke Mediengruppe.
RTL Deutschland is reorganizing its publishing business, and selling the Gruner + Jahr brands “Brigitte,” “Gala” and “Eltern” to Funke Mediengruppe as part of the reorganization. The titles are synonymous with high-quality journalistic content and high brand recognition in the German media market. The brands’ approximately 300 employees will be taken over by Funke Mediengruppe with their existing employment contracts. The sale is subject to approval by the relevant antitrust authorities.
The move marks another step in RTL Deutschland’s systematic pursuit of its “Best Owner” philosophy. Funke is one of the leading publishing groups in the German-speaking territories, with a clear focus on print and publishing – an environment in which “Brigitte,” “Gala,” and “Eltern” can best continue their future development. At the same time, securing jobs long-term remains a key objective of the transaction.
The other journalistic brands from the Gruner + Jahr portfolio will be tied in even closer to RTL Deutschland’s content business: The brands “Geolino,” “Geolino mini,” and “Art” will in future be bundled into the Stern+ journalistic suite under the supervision of Gregor Peter Schmitz at RTL News, while the “Schöner Wohnen,” “Couch,” and “Häuser” brands will from now on be managed as part of the RTL Consumer Products division under the supervision of Thorsten Braun, with a view to further enhancing their strong growth in the furniture and furnishings sector.
The sale of the “Gala,” “Brigitte” and “Eltern” brands notwithstanding, Ad Alliance will remain the advertising sales partner for the entire journalistic brand portfolio, and the magazines will continue to be distributed via Deutscher Pressevertrieb (DPV).
By repositioning its publishing business, RTL Deutschland is systematically continuing the transformation of its business model, focusing on strengthening the reach of market leader RTL and expanding subscriber and usage figures at RTL+ and Stern+. Developing from the traditional linear business to streaming and paid models with video content as a core element is one of the central pillars of RTL Deutschland’s “SHINE 2030” strategy.
RTL Deutschland CEO Stephan Schmitter said: “The transformation of the media is accelerating, which is why we believe it makes sense to bundle the businesses where they can be led into the future with full focus, great expertise, and the greatest possible security for our colleagues. As part of our ‘best owner’ philosophy, we have reached an agreement with Funke on the sale of ‘Gala’, ‘Brigitte’ and ‘Eltern’. Funke Mediengruppe has outstanding publishing expertise in the print and publishing segment and is the ideal publishing home for these three strong brands and our colleagues in the media city of Hamburg. As part of our ‘SHINE 2030’ strategy, we are concentrating even more intently on our video content, strengthening RTL Deutschland, and want to continue to fast-track the success story of RTL+, one of Germany’s largest local streaming providers, and the systematic expansion of our Stern+ paid offering.”
Jesper Doub, Managing Director Funke Medien National Brands at Funke, said: “We believe in strong brands – and ‘Brigitte’, ‘Gala’ and ‘Eltern’ are outstanding brands that not only have enormous journalistic charisma in print, but also work excellently in digital. It is a pleasure and an honor for us to continue these brands.”
As part of the reorganization, Gruner + Jahr CEO Bernd Hellermann and Carina Laudage, Chief Product Officer Gruner + Jahr, are each leaving RTL Deutschland by mutual agreement with the company.
Bernd Hellermann: “My thanks go to our employees: it has been a pleasure and an honor to work with them. Together, we have succeeded in mastering the turnaround and digitalization at Gruner + Jahr as part of RTL Deutschland. A new chapter is now being opened for the G+J businesses, and I wish the brands and their people all the best.”
Carina Laudage said: “Over the past few years, we have done everything we could with a strong team to transform the brands and make them commercially successful again – and we succeeded. I would like to thank the wonderful team that worked with such great dedication to develop new digital revenue models.”
Stephan Schmitter added: “I would like to express my sincere thanks to Bernd Hellermann for his achievements: He has decisively advanced Gruner + Jahr as part of RTL Deutschland. With his strategy for a new G+J under the RTL umbrella, G+J was able to achieve the turnaround. And I would also like to thank Carina Laudage. Her great passion for our publishing brands, her clear transformation strategy, and the establishment of revenue diversification have put the journalistic brands on a sustainable footing.”
From April 1, 2025, Christian Behr will take over the management of Gruner + Jahr in addition to his duties as Managing Director of DPV GmbH. He will report directly to Stephan Schmitter. The new Hamburg RTL Deutschland location in Koreastrasse will be retained.
